BELMONT — A back-and-forth battle between a pair of intimate conference rivals ended on a bunt.
     Sophomore Emma Lee’s suicide squeeze in the bottom of the seventh inning drove in the star of the game Molly Bockhop and lifted Belmont to a 7–6 walkoff win — their fifth such win of the year — in last Thursday’s WIAA Division 4 regional final at Bond Park.
     Bockhop, who hit a clutch two-out, two-run homer to tie the game at 4–4 in the bottom of the fifth, doubled to lead of the seventh. She moved to third when Kalyn Kamps reached on a fielder’s choice and scored the game-winning run when she got a good jump on Lee’s perfectly placed bunt and slide under the tag of Potosi catcher Abby Ames.
     “Emma is pretty darn low to the ground, and she is a two-year starter,” said Belmont head coach Jeff Hodgson. “With nobody out, I felt confident in putting the squeeze on for Molly.”
     In a game of ever changing momentum Potosi made the early statement.
     After allowing an unearned run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the first, the Chieftains (13–9) tied the game on a Rylie Bausch solo homer in the third.
     Potosi plated three in the third, highlighted by Jenna Kruser’s three-run bomb to make it 4–1.
     Belmont pulled within two on a Katelyn Schobert sac fly, right before Bockhop’s two-run blast tied the game in the fifth.
    The Braves used a bit of trickery in the sixth to take a 6–4 lead when an aggressive base running play drew a wild  overthrow of third base by Ames, allowing both Emma Eastlick and Audrey Wedig to score.
     The Chieftains battled back one base at a time, with a walk and three straight fielder’s choices, before senior outfielder Audrie Runde tied the game with a two-out, two-run single.
     Belmont crushed Fennimore 18–0 in last Tuesday’s regional semifinals.
     Niki Jenkins went 4-for-4 and, Bockhop, Mallory Ray and freshman Brandi Voights each homered in the victory.
Kamps struck out nine and allowed just four hits to improve to 19–4.
     Potosi advanced with a 3–0 win over Highland.
     Against host Highland last Tuesday night, the Chieftains used just three hits to defeat the Cardinals, 3–0.
     Clara White had two of those hits, including an RBI double. Dawn Dines also doubled for the winners.
     Kristi Bartels was nearly perfect again, giving up just three hits, while striking out nine batter without a walk.

WIAA Division 4 Regional Final
Belmont 7, Potosi 6
(from Thursday, May 31 @ Belmont)
Potosi    001    300    2     —  6  6  4
Belmont    100    032    1    ­—  7  9  3
Leading hitters — B: Niki Jenkins, Molly Bockhop 2x4, Daisy Cuzenheim 2x3. 2B – B: Jenkins, Katelyn Schobert, Bockhop, Audrey Wedig. HR — P: Rylie Bausch, Jenna Kruser; B: Bockhop. W — Kalyn Kamps (20–4, 7 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 9 SO, 5 BB). L — Bartels (6 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 5 ER, 4 SO, 0 BB).

WIAA Division 4 Regional Semifinal
Belmont 18, Fennimore 0
(from Tuesday, May 29 @ Belmont)
Fennimore    000    00         —   0   4 2
Belmont    (11)20    5x        ­— 18 15 0
Leading hitters — B: Niki Jenkins 4x4, Katelyn Schobert 2x3, Molly Bockhop 2x3, Kalyn Kamps 2x2, Mallory Ray 2x3. 2B – B: Eastlick, Bockhop. HR — B: Ray, Bockhop, Voigts. W — Kalyn Kamps (19–4, 5 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 9 SO, 0 BB). L — Biddick (4 IP, 13 H, 18 R, 16 ER, 1 SO, 3 BB).

WIAA Division 4 Regional Quarterfinal
Potosi 3, Highland 0
(from Tuesday, May 29 @ Highland)
Potosi    000    201     0    –  3  3  1
Highland    000    000    0    –  0  3  0
Leading hitters — P: Clara White 2x3; H: Wienkes 3x3. 3B — P: White, Dawn Dines. W — Kristi Bartels (11–7, 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 9 SO, 0 BB). L ­­— Wolfe (7 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 11 SO, 3 BB).

Roach, De Soto end Belmont season at sectionals

     HIGHLAND — Cassie Roach was nearly unhittable in Monday’s WIAA Division 4 sectional semifinal.
     The senior pitcher struck out 12 and allowed just one hit — a sixth inning bloop single by Belmont shortstop Molly     Bockhop — to lead De Soto to a 4–0 victory over Jeff Hodgson’s Braves Monday afternoon at Highland.
     The Pirates (19–4) scored a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the fourth inning on a two-run, two-out single by Jess Tresani.
     De Soto added two more runs an inning later on an RBI fielder’s choice by Camille Tully and an RBI single by Austin Abbott.
     Belmont finished the year 21–5.

WIAA Division 4 Sectional Semifinal
DeSoto 4, Belmont 0
(from Monday, June 4 @ Highland)
Belmont    000    000    0    ­—  0  1  3
Potosi    000    220    x     —  4  5  0
Leading hitters — D: Austin Abbott 2x3. W — Roach (7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 12 SO, 2 BB). L — Kalyn Kamps (20–5, 6 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 7 SO, 1 BB).