The Becker Bulldog girls softball team is off to a very good start, improving to 7-0 and they haven’t even hosted a home game yet this season. Last weekend, the girls traveled to Wisconsin Dells to play three games.  

 

Friday, Becker took on defending state champion and #1-ranked LaCrosse Logan and came away with a one-run win.

 

Logan returned their ace pitcher from last year and hits were hard to come by for the visitors.  Logan got on the board first with a run on two hits in the top of the first inning.  

 

In the top of the third, they added another run on a walk and a single to make the score 2-0.

 

Becker had just three hits in the game, but fortunately they bunched them together in the bottom of the third inning to score their four runs.  After Sydney Lamott doubled to lead off the inning and Kaylyn Wiehle was hit by a pitch, the Bulldogs had runners on first and second with two outs.  

 

Ellie Schwartz hit a fly ball to center field and it bounced off the glove of the fielder, allowing Lamott to score.  Payton Williams then singled to left field and a quick hop on the turf field skipped off the fielder’s leg allowing Wiehle and Schwartz to score.  Erika Schwartz followed with another single to score Williams and give the Lady Bulldogs a 4-2 lead.  

 

Logan answered with a run in the fifth to get within one run, but Brianna Corey shut down Logan in the final two innings and the girls came away with a big win.  

 

Corey went all seven innings and allowed three runs, two earned on five hits.  She walked four and struck out six.

 

In Becker’s second game Saturday, the Bulldogs took on Merrill (WI) and won by three.  

 

This time, Becker jumped out to a first inning run when Ellie Schwartz reached second base on a throwing error.  She proceeded to steal third base and scored on a wild pitch.  

 

The Bulldogs added another run in the second when Corrie Weise scored on a Kayla Mittlestaedt double.  

 

The score remained 2-0 until the bottom of the fifth when Becker added three insurance runs.  Ellie Schwartz led off with a single and Williams followed with another single before Erika Schwartz stepped to the plate and cleared the bases with a three-run home run to make the score 5-0.  

 

Merrill got on the board with two runs in the top of the seventh inning, but it was too little, too late.  

 

Eight different hitters  recorded a hit in the game for the Bulldogs.  Weise picked up the win on the mound.  She went all seven innings and allowed two runs on three hits and four walks.  She struck out four batters.

 

In Becker’s final game of the weekend, the offense exploded for 10 runs against Antigo (WI) in a five-inning win.  

 

After going scoreless in the first, The Bulldogs put five runs on the board in the second when Weise and Wiehle each had RBI singles in the inning.  

 

The Bulldogs tacked on five more runs in the bottom of the third on six hits.  

 

That was all the offense we would need as Corey threw four no-hit innings and Weise came on to finish with a final hitless inning.  Corey got the win with six strikeouts and one walk in four innings.  Weise and Wiehle finished with two hits in the game.

 

“I was very pleased with how the weekend went,” said Head Coach Jason Baune.  “The weather cooperated and the girls had a lot of fun.  It was a great opportunity for our team to see good competition and also to do some team building.”  

 

Baune is thrilled to see his team coming together and forming a cohesive group so early in the year.  

 

“Hopefully, we'll be able to build off the weekend as we head towards May and the tougher part of our schedule,” he said.

 

Tuesday night, Becker returned to conference play as they traveled to St. Cloud to take on a much-improved Cathedral team.  

 

The Bulldogs jumped on the Crusaders with three runs in the top of the first when Ellie Schwartz walked and Williams drove a double to right center to score her.  Alexa Hanowski followed with a two-out single to score Williams and Weise did the same to score Hanowski.  

 

The Crusaders came back in the bottom of the second and tied the score with three runs of their own on a single, two doubles and an RBI ground out.  

 

Becker answered with three more runs in the top of the third when Hanowski and Weise led off the inning with singles and Lamott moved the runners with a sacrifice bunt.  Brinley Zoller followed with a great at bat and on a two-strike count, singled to score both runners.  

 

Later in the inning, Hailey Fitzpatrick singled to score Megan Hoppe who was running for Zoller.  

 

After that, the game became a pitchers duel with some great defense played and neither team posing much of a threat as the Bulldogs held on for the three-run win.  

 

Fitzpatrick, Hanowski, and Weise had two hits on the day.  Corey picked up the win, going all seven innings and allowing three runs on five hits and a walk.  She struck out six  to move her record to 4-0 on the season.

 

Thursday night, Becker traveled to Albany to take on the 4-1 Huskies.  

 

The game was scoreless until the third when Fitzpatrick hit a one-out triple and scored on a perfectly executed suicide squeeze bunt by Williams.  

 

The Huskies answered with a run of their own on a two out walk, followed by a passed ball to put a runner on second base.  The runner scored on a single to right field to tie the game at one.

 

Becker answered with two runs in the top of the fourth when  Weise and Wiehle hit back-to-back triples. Wiehle proceeded to steal home to make the score 3-1.  

 

In the sixth, the Bulldogs added two more runs on a couple errors and RBI singles by Wiehle and Lamott.  

 

In the seventh, the visitors added three more runs, highlighted by a two-RBI triple from Wiehle. She finished the day going 3-for-3 with a walk, two triples and four RBIs.  Weise and Lamott each finished with two hits.  

 

Weise got the win by allowing only one run on one hit and four walks.  She struck out nine and moved her record to 3-0 on the season.

 

“I'm very pleased that we've been able to get off to a 7-0 start,” said Baune.  “It's been great to see teammates pick each other up and if we continue to work hard, I'm sure that there are great things to come.”  

 

As of Tuesday, the Minnesota Fastpitch Coaches’ Association has the Bulldogs ranked third in the state in Class AAA.

 

After playing their first seven games away from home, the Bulldogs are excited to play their first home game Thursday against Foley at 5 p.m.  They are also excited to get a chance to travel to Buffalo and take on an 8-0 and highly ranked Bison  Friday.