Colfax girls roll over Regis, sting Cadott Hornets for first regional crown since 1982

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by Marlys Kruger

Sports Correspondent

COLFAX — Playing as a number two seed, the Colfax softball team received a bye in the first round of the WIAA regional tournament, then hosted the Eau Claire Regis Ramblers in the regional semi-final May 23. Regis was coming off a first-round win over Spring Valley but the Vikings were ready and waiting for them, resulting in a 12-2 win in five innings.

Two days later they stayed home for another contest, facing the Cadott Hornets in a regional final. The Lady Vikings had to weather a couple of storms before pulling out a 10-5 win over the Hornets giving the team the third regional title in school history and the first since 1982.  

Eau Claire Regis

The Ramblers were a number seven seed with a record of 2-16 overall and finished last in the Cloverbelt West Conference. After Colfax pitcher Mallory Field set the Ramblers down in order in the top of the first, the Vikings were patient at the plate in their first at bat. With one out, the Regis pitcher struggled to find the strike zone, walking four Viking batters in a row. With a couple of wild pitches and a passed ball in the mix, a base hit by Emma Medin over the shortstop’s head brought in the second and third runs of the inning for a 3-0 lead.

Regis put a runner on in the second on a single with one out but on a bunt attempt, Colfax catcher Ella Peterson pounced on the ball and gunned the runner out at first. A pop up to third ended the top half of the second. McKenna Shipman showed off her bunting skills, laying one down in front of the plate and beating the throw to first for a hit. She promptly stole second base and with two outs, Jada Anderson singled to bring Shipman in. Brynn Sikora slammed a base hit to the outfield to bring Anderson around and Hannah Peterson blasted a triple to bring Sikora in and increased the Viking lead to 6-0.

Field walked the Regis lead-off batter to start the third inning and a Viking error put another runner on base. A smash through the infield gave the Ramblers their first run of the game and with one out,  Ella Peterson used her cannon arm again to throw out a runner trying to steal third base, but Field finished things off with a strikeout.

With one out in the bottom of the fourth, Anderson sent a hot shot to the shortstop who fielded it and threw the ball over the first baseman’s head, allowing Anderson to advance to second. The Ramblers brought a new pitcher in who promptly threw a wild pitch, advancing Anderson to third. Sikora banged a single to center field for an RBI, Hannah Peterson set down an excellent bunt for a base hit and Audrey Ebert smacked a base hit down the third base line to bring a run in. Peterson scored the third run of the inning, stealing home on a bad pitch.

The Ramblers added another run in the top of the fifth, starting on a two-out free pass from Field, just her second of the game. A bad throw on a steal attempt allowed the runner to get to third and a wild pitch brought her in. Field forced a pop up to the catcher to get out of the inning.

Ahead 9-2, coach John Dickinsen sent in pinch hitter Olivia Runowski who drew a lead off walk. McKenna Shipman singled and Ella Peterson laid down a sacrifice bunt. Anderson was intentionally walked to load the bases and I guess you could say it backfired on the Ramblers when Sikora slammed a shot through the shortstop’s wickets. By the time the fielders caught up with the ball, the bases were cleared and the three runs ended the contest with the 10-run rule.

Sikora batted 3-for-4 to lead the Viking offense while Hannah Peterson was 2-for-4. Field gave up just two hits with three strikeouts and a pair of walks to earn the win.

Cadott 

The Vikings had to face another team from the Cloverbelt West Conference when they took on the Hornets. Cadott was 5-13 overall and 2-12 in conference play and were a number six seed. They put the Vikings on their heels when they loaded the bases in the top of the first with a single, a walk and a Viking error, but Field, back in the circle for the Vikings, bore down to whiff two Hornets and force a ground out to get out of the jam with no runs.

That may have taken the wind out of the Cadott sails early, especially when McKenna Shipman opened the bottom of the inning with a bunt for a base hit. She swiped second and came in on Ella Peterson’s double to left field. Anderson and Sikora drew free passes and both moved up a base on a wild pitch and Peterson scored on another wild pitch. After a pop up for the first out, Medin took a walk and Alexis Schindler grounded out to the first baseman which brought in another run then a strikeout ended the inning with Colfax up 3-0.

“The top of Cadott’s lineup is very tough so keeping them off the board in the first inning was big for us,” Colfax coach John Dickinsen said. “Mallory just took control and our defense stuck with it. And scoring runs right away was a big relief,” he added.

Cadott went down 1-2-3 in the top of the second and the Vikings added a run when Ella Peterson drew a walk and came around to score from second base on a close play at home on a Cadott throwing error. Sikora sent a hard hit ball to right field but the Hornet player made a nice running catch to end the inning.

After a lead-off walk to the Hornets in the third, Sikora snared a line drive at third base for an out. The Hornet runner stole second but catcher Peterson wasn’t going to allow her to get further as she gunned her down trying to swipe third. A groundout to Anderson quickly ended things. Colfax had a golden opportunity to pull away in their half of the third when Ebert slammed a double over the center fielder’s head and Medin walked. Two strikeouts and another running catch by the right fielder left the two runners stranded.

Cadott tried to surprise the Vikings on a one-out bunt attempt in the fourth but Peterson pounced on it like a cat on a mouse to throw the runner out. It was the Viking’s turn to show off their outfielder’s ability as McKenna Shipman had to get on her horse to catch a ball just below her knees for a third out.

Colfax picked up three more tallies in the bottom of the inning when McKenna Shipman and Ella Peterson both set down bunts the Hornets were unable to field. When they moved up a base on a ground ball out, Shipman came in on Sikora’s RBI single, Peterson came in on an overthrow by the Hornets and Sikora came around on a wild pitch. Another slick running catch in the outfield, this time by the center fielder ended the Colfax inning but it was 7-0 in their favor.

Field and her defense seemed to be in control when two groundouts to Medin at second and a fly ball to Olivia Runowski set the Hornets down in order in the fifth. The Vikings left a couple of more ducks on the pond in their half of the inning on a mental error on the bases and some pretty good fielding by the Hornets.

The Hornet’s nest suddenly came alive offensively in the top of the sixth inning. Things began with a walk, but a single, a triple and a couple of more base hits gave the Hornets three runs before a high pop up to Schindler looking straight into the sun was snared and a grounder to Medin put the fire out, cutting the lead to 7-3.

Any coach will tell you getting runs back right away after giving some up can be a key to winning ball games. The Vikings did just that, scoring three times on a walk and stolen base by Anderson, a Sikora slam past first base and a ball that dropped between the right fielder and first baseman by Medin for a triple. McKenna Shipman just happened to have another bunt single with two outs but a strikeout left the bases loaded.

With the Vikings leading 10-3 in the top of the seventh, the Hornets were still buzzing, starting with a double out to the fence. A pop up fell in over the infielder’s head, scoring a run but a sharp ground ball was fielded by Anderson for an out at first. The Cadott runner moved to third and scored on a foul fly ball chased down by Sierra Shipman for the second out, and when a ground ball went to Sikora at third, the accurate throw across the diamond to Schindler for the third out sent up a roar from the crowd. 

Field hurled all seven innings again, whiffing four Hornets with three walks and six hits. McKenna Shipman collected three hits and came home twice, Ella Peterson banged a pair of hits and scored three times and Anderson and Sikora both crossed home plate twice.

After getting doused with the water bucket by his players, coach Dickinsen commented on his first regional championship.

“We have just 13 girls out this year and have had to battle adversity with some injuries,” he said. “But everyone stepped up and our two seniors (Mallory and Ella) really showed great leadership and everyone worked together for the goals set at the beginning of the season. I am so proud of how hard they work in practice and in games. We wanted to make the school and community proud and we want to continue doing that,” he concluded.