BOSCOBEL - After reeling off three straight wins against Darlington, Cassville-River Ridge, and Fennimore in the past week, the Bulldogs ran into SWAL Conference foe Cuba City and a hot pitcher on Thursday, April 21.
Cuban pitcher Emily Wiederholt tossed a no-hitter and struck out 16 to lead the Cubans to a 3-1 victory. Kayla Busch gave the Cubans all the runs they would need with a two-out, two-run home run to left center in the first inning.
The Bulldogs scratched out a run in the fourth to make it 2-1. Olivia Grassel reached by being hit by pitch to lead off the inning, took second on a long fly-ball out by Leah Wacker, and scored when the left-fielder bobbled a looping line drive by Hailey Bray.
Cuba City got that run back in the fifth, scoring an unearned run, aided by an error. Widerholt then took charge, striking out the final three hitters and making the Cubans 5-2 in SWAL play and dropping the Bulldogs to 4-2.
Hosting Lancaster
The Bulldogs had no time to get down and bounced back nicely the next night against the Flying Arrows from Lancaster.
Hits were no issue on Friday as the Bulldogs banged out 15 of them. Allie Pickett was three for five and Emily Johnson three for four to lead the way, while Olivia Grassel, Sydney Williams, and Danielle Ernst each collected two hits.
Boscobel wasted no time, scoring three in the first. Johnson opened the game with a double and scored when Allie Pickett traded places with her at second with her own double. Grassel then drilled a triple, scoring Pickett. Grassel scored on a sacrifice fly by Leah Wacker.
The Bulldogs tacked on single runs in the second and third innings. Danielle Ernst singled with one out in the second inning, then stole second base. She scored on an RBI single by Johnson. In the third, Bray walked with two outs and Sydney Williams followed with a single. Freshman Melena Tomas lined a single to left center to score Bray. Meanwhile, pitcher Sydney Williams held the Flying Arrows scoreless through three innings.
The visitors picked up a run in the top of the fourth, making the score 5-1 Boscobel.
The Bulldogs scored two more in the fourth. Johnson opened the frame with a base hit, but was forced at second on a sharp groundball by Pickett. Grassel doubled to put runners at second and third. Leah Wacker scored them both on a solid single to left-center, making the score 7-1.
Lancaster refused to give in and clawed back with three runs in the fifth, making it 7-4.
Williams shut down the Arrows in the sixth, and the Bulldogs picked up two insurance runs in the bottom of the inning. They would need them. Pickett singled and Grassel was hit by a pitch to put two on with no outs. Leah Wacker then dropped a solid sacrifice bunt to move the runners into scoring position. After a pop out, Hailey Bray was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Williams then delivered a big two-out single through the right side scoring two runs, making the score 9-4.
Lancaster was not done, erupting for five runs in the top of the seventh and tying the score at nine. Boscobel did not flinch though, having been in a number of close games already this young season.
Ernst doubled to start the bottom of the seventh. Emily Johnson executed a key sacrifice bunt, moving Ernst to third with one out. Allie Pickett then laced the game winner past the third basemen for the “walk off” win.
Pointer double-header
On Monday, Boscobel hosted SWAL opponent Mineral Point in a double header, making up a game from earlier in the season that had been rained out.
Game one was a pitching duel between Boscobel’s Olivia Grassel and Mineral Point’s Lawinger.
Through six innings, the Pointers held a 1-0 lead, having picked up a run in the third inning.
The Bulldogs, once again rallied when they were down, tying the game in the sixth. Olivia Grassel singled to right to start the inning. Wacker then sacrificed Grassel to second with a bunt, setting the table for Jayden Molzof. Molzof delivered a single to left-center to score Grassel.
Grassel slammed the door in the seventh with two of her six strikeouts and gave the young Bulldogs an opportunity for the win in the bottom of the seventh.
Alyssa Davis got things going with single to left to open the inning. Danielle Ernst then grounded a ball to the right side, reaching on an error. Emily Johnson moved the runners up with an excellent sacrifice bunt. With one out, Allie Pickett made good contact, grounding one to the third baseman. Davis got a good jump and the third baseman was unable to handle the ball to make a play on her, and the Bulldogs won 2-1!
In the nightcap, Grassel out-dueled Lawinger, allowing just two hits and keeping the Pointers off stride much of the night. She was backed by solid defense by the Bulldogs who committed just one error in the two games and made several key plays.
The Pointers biggest threat was in the second when they loaded the bases with no outs. Grassel picked up one of her two strikeouts, got an infield pop out, and the inning ended on a groundball out. Grassel got stronger as the game went on and the defense played outstanding behind her the rest of the way.
Boscobel picked up all the runs they would need in the third, scoring all three with two outs. Grassel tripled to right to get it started. Leah Wacker lined a single to drive in Grassel, and then stole second base. The next batter, Jayden Molzof lined a pitch to center and when the outfielder dove and missed, Wacker scored and Molzof cruised into third with a triple. As she came into third, the third baseman was called for obstruction and Molzof was given home by the umpire.
The defense then shut down any attempt by the Pointers to rally. A two-out single in the sixth, followed by a base-hit to left center started a rally, but Wacker cut the ball off and made a solid throw to Hailey Bray at third who slapped the tag on the runner trying to advance and end the inning. A 1-2-3 seventh gave the Bulldogs the sweep of the double header.
Boscobel improved their conference record to 6-2 and are now 8-3 overall.
The Bulldogs travel to Cobb today (Thursday) to take on Iowa-Grant and host Platteville in a non-conference game on Friday.
