Mounders softball nipped by Buffs in regional contest
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MONDOVI — After they had split their regular season contests, each winning on the other’s home turf to earn a share of the Dunn-St. Croix softball championship, Elk Mound and Mondovi met for a third time in a WIAA Division 3 regional semifinal.
Seeded fifth, the Lady Mounders had to travel to Mondovi last Tuesday, May 24 to take on the fourth-seeded Buffaloes (15-3, 13-1). When the dust finally settled, Mondovi had escaped with a 3-2 win to advance to the May 26 regional championship against Prescott, which the top-seeded Cardinals (19-6), who were also ranked eighth in the last regular season D3 state poll, won 10-1.
Meanwhile, Elk Mound was left to pack away the equipment and uniforms following a 15-4 campaign which included a 13-1 conference championship record.
Mondovi scored a run in each of the first three innings off of the Dunn-St. Croix “Player of the Year” McKenna Diermeier for an early 3-1 advantage over visiting Elk Mound. The Mounders got within one when they plated a run in the top of the fifth but could get no closer as Buffalo hurler Abby Johnson slammed the door on the Mounders’ playoff aspirations and season.
Johnson allowed only two runs on a pair of hits and struck out seven Mounder batters to earn the victory. Johnson did surrender six base on balls which helped to keep Elk Mound within striking distance throughout the seven-inning contest.
Diermeier, the Mounders’ senior pitching ace, went six innings in the circle allowing three runs, two of which were earned, on four hits to suffer the loss. She walked four and whiffed half a dozen.
After the Buffaloes took a 1-0 lead following one inning of action, the Mounders knotted the game at ones with a run in the top of the second. Issie Hollister drew a lead-off walk. She moved to third when Chloe Dummer bunted and reached on an error by the Mondovi catcher. Lauren Garnett then singled to bring Hollister to home plate with the Mounders’ first run.
Mondovi added single runs in the bottom half of the second and third innings to take a 3-1 advantage.
The score remained unchanged until the top of the fifth when the Mounders brought a second run home. Morgyn Hallum was issued another lead-off walk by Johnson, she then stole second and advanced to third on an infield error. Hallum eventually scored on a ground-out fielder’s choice off the bat of Ellie Schiszik.
Unfortunately, the Mounders did not score another run in the final two frames and lost 3-2.
Hallum and Garnett had Elk Mound’s only two hits.
Elk Mound committed three errors while Mondovi had a pair.