This story is sponsored by: Curves of Marshfield
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – The Marshfield softball team fell in the WIAA Division 1 sectional semifinals for the third-straight season, this time falling to Chippewa Falls 7-2 on Tuesday at the Marshfield Fairgrounds.
The Tigers led 2-0 after a two-run double by Morgan Nordbeck in the fourth inning, but that was all they could get against Chippewa Falls pitcher Mallory Sterling.
Sterling finished with 11 strikeouts, walked only two, and allowed just one other hit – a two-out single to Megan Donahue in the fifth inning.
“They’re a quality team up and down,” Marshfield coach Dan Costa said. “I thought we played well, played good in the field, but eventually they were going to get their hits. I always tell the girls, ‘It’s not what happens, it’s how you react to what happens. Unfortunately, in (the seventh) inning, we didn’t react very well.”
The Cardinals fought back with single runs in the fifth and sixth innings to tie the game.
Leadoff hitter Kaylee Frenette had an inside-the-park home run in the fifth, drilling a shot over Marshfield right fielder Taylor Barwick and showing off her speed as she raced around the bases.
Chippewa Falls (23-4) tied it up in the sixth when Alisia Palms had a single and scored on a single by Maddie Adrian that skipped past the left fielder.
Finally the Cardinals blew the game open with a five-run seventh. Kyra Peloqin had a ground-rule double that bounced over the left field fence to score two, and Palms followed with a two-run single. With two outs, Nicole Crumbaker delivered a run-scoring single to make it 7-2.
Marshfield’s bats were largely silent as only three baserunners reached outside of the two-run fourth inning.
“We knew (Sterling) was going come in on the hands and down at the knee, and she was true to form,” Costa said. “She spotted it very, very well. She had about a 10-mile an hour difference on her change-up and that kept us off balance.”
Donahue struck out nine and walked seven on the mound, suffering the loss.
Donahue, Nordbeck, Kate Konrardy and Emily Draeger, the four Marshfield seniors, end their varsity careers with an impressive 64-39 record and three-straight regional titles.
“I know we have some records that have been broken,” Costa said. “I told the juniors ‘It’s now your team and how hard you work is up to you.’ A lot put it on the coaches, I put it on the players. They got to want it and want to be part of something bigger. I really like the future here in Marshfield, I think we’re building something good.”
Chippewa Falls will play at No. 1 seed Stevens Point (27-1) in a sectional final Thursday at Woyak Park in Plover. The Cardinals, winners of 14 games in a row, are the only team to defeat Point this season, winning 2-1 back on May 12.
Cardinals 7, Tigers 2
Chippewa Falls 000 011 5 – 7 6 2
Marshfield 000 200 0 – 2 2 2
WP: Mallory Sterling. LP: Megan Donahue.
SO: Sterling 11; Donahue 9. BB: Sterling 2; Donahue 7.
Top hitters: CF, Kaylee Frenette HR, 2 runs, RBI; Alisia Palms 2×4, 2 runs, 2 RBIs; Kyra Peloquin 2B, 2 RBIs. M, Donahue 1×2; Morgan Nordbeck 1×3, 2B, 2 RBIs.
Records: Chippewa Falls 23-4; Marshfield 22-5.