This story is sponsored by: Trudeau Construction and The Tile Guys
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
ABBOTSFORD – It’s the dream of any baseball or softball player. Two strikes, two outs, bottom of the last inning – hit the game-winning home run.
Spencer junior Paige Johnson lived the dream on Monday.
The Rockets’ shortstop belted a full-count, two-out pitch over the fence in left-center field in the bottom of the seventh inning to lift Spencer to a thrilling 5-4 win over Wisconsin Rapids Assumption in a WIAA Division 4 sectional semifinal Monday at Abbotsford High School.
Spencer (22-5) moves on to the sectional final where it will face undefeated Tigerton (25-0) on Thursday at Robinson Park in Wisconsin Rapids at 4:30 p.m.
“I just wanted to make contact,” Paige Johnson said. “I wasn’t looking for a home run. I just wanted to get on base. I didn’t want to swing at any balls – I needed all the help I could get out there.”
Spencer is searching for its first state tournament appearance, while Tigerton is looking for its third straight. The Tigers won the Division 4 state title in 2010 and lost in the semifinals last year.
“She’s a great two-strike hitter and the thing with Paige is she’s never going to get cheated,” Spencer coach Jason Gorst said. “We were hoping to try to turn things around in Spencer and really try to build something, and now we’re one game away from that. It feels pretty good.”
Spencer led 1-0 after Dani Johnson led off the first inning with a single, stole second, and scored on a one-out single by Krystal Weier.
The lead held up until the third when Assumption erupted against Rockets’ pitcher Heidi Guenther.
Brittney Buttrock singled home a run to tie the game, but left fielder Dani Johnson threw out a second runner trying to score. Megan Buntrock followed with a two-run single to put the Royals up 3-1.
After that, Guenther settled down and Spencer chipped away.
Paige Johnson walked and scored from second on a fielder’s choice grounder by Tynae Phillips in the fourth, and the Rockets took a 4-3 lead with two runs in the fifth. Paige Johnson had an RBI single and Courtney Schulz followed with another run-scoring single to give Spencer the lead.
Assumption tied the game in the top of the sixth thanks to a two-base error and an RBI groundout by Ashley Buntrock, but Guenther got out of the inning and allowed just a one-out walk in the seventh to set up Paige Johnson’s heroics.
Guenther allowed seven hits – four in the third – and three walks, while striking out two.
“It was another good performance for her,” Gorst said. “She’s mentally tough. It was a great game.”
Johnson fell behind 0-2 in her at-bat with two outs in the seventh, only to work the count to 3-2 before smashing the game-winning drive.
“Some games we start out a little shaky but we usually come through in the end,” Johnson said.
Rockets 5, Royals 4
Assumption 003 001 0 – 4 7 1
Spencer 100 120 1 – 5 6 2
WP: Heidi Guenther. LP: Megan Buntrock.
SO: M. Buntrock 6; Guenther 2. BB: M. Buntrock 3; Guenther 3.
Top hitters: A, Genny Fuller 2×3; Jane Bewman 2B, run; M. Buntrock 2 RBIs. S, Paige Johnson 2×3, HR, 2 RBIs, 3 runs.
Records: Assumption 14-9; Spencer 22-5.