RHINELANDER, WI - The Norse Softball Team (2-14) returned to action on Tuesday and Wednesday and ended up being swept in four games. On Tuesday Madison College (4-0) used a late surge to take an 11-3 win. The Norse were only able to plate one run against Lake Region State (5-6) and lost 4-1. On Wednesday Lake Region won in a close matchup by a score of 6-4 and Madison outslugged the Norse in the finale, winning 12-9.
Korey Kaukola (SO, Champion, MI) put Bay in the lead in the first game by leading off the second inning with a homerun to left.
The Wolfpack answered back in the bottom half with a leadoff homerun of their own. Maddie Kvatek (FR, Stevens Point, WI) put one out over the right field fence, tying the game at one.
The Norse got another leadoff homer in the fourth to break the tie when Lexi Challier (SO, Escanaba, MI) hit a shot over the centerfield fence. Madison answered back in the bottom of the fourth again, this time stringing together three consecutive singles to tie the game. With one out they got an infield single to drive in one run, and a double by Katherine Brandl (SO, Fort Atkinson, WI) scored two more runs, putting the Wolfpack up 5-2.
A four-run fifth broke the game open for Madison College. Bay got a second solo homerun from Challier in the sixth, but a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth ended the game with the Wolfpack on top.
Casey Fountain (FR, Poynette, WI) worked four innings for the win, giving up two hits and two earned runs while striking out nine.
Karlie Patron (FR, Ishpeming, MI) took the loss. She walked five and gave up eight hits and seven runs in three innings.
In game two the Royals took the lead in the top of the third. After a lead off walk Junishea Cantero (FR, Lanai City, HI) doubled to left, driving in the first run of the game.
The Norse put together their best threat in the bottom of the third. With two outs they got a Challier single and a Kaitlyn Hardwick (SO, Gladstone, MI) doubled to put runners in scoring position. A defensive miscue by Lake Region allowed the Norse to tie the game, but they left two on in the inning.
The Royals answered back in the top of the fourth. Four consecutive singles gave them a one-run lead, and with two outs and the bases loaded Tyra Robertson (SO, Moab, UT) drove in two with a line drive double to left field. Lake Region held a 4-1 lead after three and a half innings of play.
Neither team would have a runner reach base until the seventh inning. Lake Region State stranded a lead off walk and single. The Norse attempted a two-out rally as Hailey Boucher (FR, Bark River, MI) drew a walk and Ashly Powell (FR, Menominee, MI) singled bringing the tying run to the plate, but both were left on base as the Royals slammed the door on the comeback attempt.
Alex Chapman (FR, Maple Creek, SK) earned the win, pitching five and two thirds while giving up just three hits, one unearned run, and one walk while striking out four.
Patron went the distance for the Norse and gave up four runs, three of them earned. She struck out five and walked just two.
Robertson went three for four with a double and two RBI.
The two teams met up for a rematch Wednesday morning. Emery Miller (SO, Camas, WA) opened up the scoring in the first, launching a three-rum homer to center with two outs.
Kaukola cut into the lead in the top of the second. With a 2-2 count she led off the inning with a line drive homerun to center, making the score 3-1 in favor of the Royals.
The Norse put pressure on Lake Region in the fifth. A Challier single and Hardwick walk started the inning and Sarah Wynn (FR, Pitt Meadows, BC) drove in Challier with a liner to left. Royal starting pitcher Ainsley Olson (FR, Strathmore, AB) struck out the next batter, then induced an inning ending double play groundball to second, killing the threat and preserving a 3-2 lead for Lake Region.
Kristin Goodacre (FR, Rapid River, MI) tied the game in the sixth. She lifted a fly ball to deep left for a homerun to lead off the inning, but the Royals wasted no time taking the lead back. A pair of Norse errors coupled with a pair of Lake Region singles plated three runs for Lake Region in bottom of the sixth.
The Norse were down to their last chance in the seventh and started the inning off with a bang. Challier hammered a homerun to left to lead off the inning and with one out Wynn doubled and Kaukola walked, putting the tying run on base. Olson once again worked her way out of a jam, getting back-to-back fly balls to end the inning and the game.
Olson struck out nine while giving up four earned runs, ten hits, and five walks in seven innings of work.
Patron worked five runs and only three of her six runs were earned. She gave up just five hits, but walked four.
Wynn and Goodacre finished with a multi-hit game.
The finale saw Bay go into a hole early. Madison College used three hits to take advantage of one Norse error, two walks, and a hit by pitch to score five runs in the top of the first.
Challier led off the bottom of the first with yet another homerun, this time to left. It cut the lead to 5-1 in favor of the Wolfpack.
Madison wasted no time answering and extending their lead. Fountain hit a one-out solo homerun in the second, which was followed two batters later by a solo homerun from Abby Luczak (SO, Rosendale, WI). The power surge continued in the third as Lauren Steien (FR, Taylor, WI) hit a two-run homerun to center, making the score 9-1. The Wolfpack added two more runs in the fourth. Hannah Melum (FR, Iola, WI) singled with two outs and the bases loaded, giving Madison a ten-run lead.
The Norse started to chip away in the fifth. A pair of walks got the offense started and Challier singled to drive in a run. Bay then scored on an RBI groundout by Hardwick and another run crossed the plate on an error, making the score 11-3.
Madison scratched across a run in the seventh, leaving the Norse down nine heading into the last frame. With one out Challier hit a solo homerun. Hardwick singled and Kaukola drove her in with a double. Wynn would score on a Goodacre single, putting Bay down five. An error with two outs kept the inning alive and sent Goodacre in to score and Powell singled to left making the score 12-9 and bringing the tying run to the plate. Once again, the Norse rally fell short, as Steien, the Royal relief pitcher, got a ground out to end the game.
Cathryn Hiller (SO, Random Lake, WI) was the starting pitcher and went three innings and gave up two hits, one run, walked two, and struck out two. Steien finished the last four innings and gave up eight runs, five earned, six hits, and two walks while striking out one.
Patron started the game and went two innings. She gave up five earned runs and five hits. Hannah Edington (SO, Millington, MI) pitched three and two thirds in relief, giving up five runs, though only one of them were earned. Kaukola finished the final one and one third.
Steien was two for four with four RBI, while Melum was two for two with two RBI off the bench.
Challier collected three hits and three RBI in four at bats. Powell finished two for four with an RBI.
The Norse hit eight homeruns in the four-game series, all of them solo shots. Challier was responsible for five of the long balls.
"Losing sucks. There's no way around it," said Head Coach Heidi Charon. "But I'm excessively proud of this team for how mentally and emotionally tough they have been. We've been pushing through with just ten healthy players and every single person is stepping up to contribute in every single game. Winning games will come down to us living up to our potential at the plate. The girls started to do that today. Ending this trip with a big comeback from a 12-4 deficit against a tough Madison team was huge. As hard as it is to stay positive when the scoreboard doesn't show a 'W', we are committed using these losses as lessons to get better. The results we want will come."
Bay returns to action on March 26 and 27 when they participate in a Region 13 Crossover event in the Rosemount Irish Dome in Minnesota. They faceoff with Central Lakes College and Dakota County on Friday, and Northland Community and Technical College and Rainy River Community College on Saturday.