By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
View a photo gallery of Thursday’s game.
MARSHFIELD – Defensive mistakes were few and far between, but it was those mistakes that were responsible for the outcome in Thursday’s WIAA Division 1 regional final at Lee Field at the Marshfield Fairgounds.
Marshfield capitalized on two Antigo errors to scored three times in the third inning and made it hold up, beating the Red Robins 3-2 to capture the regional championship.
The Tigers (14-9) will host Wausau West (16-9) in a sectional semifinal Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. West beat D.C. Everest 10-9 in eight innings on Thursday.
Becky Boehning led off the third for Marshfield by reaching on an error. Andie Varsho followed with a single. After a failed bunt attempt that resulted in a foul out, the two runners advanced on a wild pitch. Taylor Varsho grounded to third base and reached first when Antigo first baseman Molly Young dropped the throw as Boehning scored.
Raelyn Wingert followed with an RBI single and Rhiannon Baierl bunted on a safety squeeze to score Taylor Varsho from third to make it 3-0.
“Luckily we were able to get three from their mistakes and they were only able to get two,” Marshfield coach Mike Voss said. “We’ve had a lot of games like that this year. It seems like after we make that one mistake, that’s usually about it. Tonight, after that one mistake, we made some nice defensive plays after that.
Baierl, Marshfield’s pitcher, walked three in the first three innings, but escaped unscathed. The Red Robins got to her in the fourth, and made it close on the Tigers’ lone defensive mistake of the game.
With the bases loaded, Heather Kakes drilled a shot that got through shortstop Taylor Varsho that went into left field and allowed two runs to score, cutting Marshfield’s lead to 3-2.
Baierl was able to get out of the inning and after Christine Kondzela led off the fifth with a single, she sent down the next nine in order to preserve the one-run win.
“She puts the ball where they can’t hit it real solid a lot of times and it makes it a lot easier to play defense in those situations,” Voss said of Baierl’s performance. “I give a lot of credit to her the way she battled. She was off to a rough start with some walks and kind of put some pressure on herself, but she worked out of it and finished the game pretty good.”
The Tigers split a Wisconsin Valley Conference doubleheader with Wausau West on May 10, winning the opener 5-4 before losing the second game 12-2.
Andie Varsho, who was 2-for-2 with a walk and a stolen base in Thursday’s victory, expects another tough matchup with the Warriors, who tied Marshfield for third place in the Valley standings.
“West is a good team and we are a good team,” Andie Varsho said. “Hopefully we can show them what we’re made of and make a statement.
“We hit the ball OK, but I just feel in a doubleheader you get tired, especially Rhiannon. I give her so much credit, she pitches all of the games for us. One game will be better for us because we can be aggressive and be at the top of our game.”
Tigers 3, Red Robins 2
Antigo 000 200 0 – 2 4 2
Marshfield 003 000 x – 3 5 1
WP: Rhiannon Baierl. LP: Amanda Kessler.
SO: Kessler 2; Baierl 0. BB: Kessler 2; Baierl 4.
Leading hitters: M, Andie Varsho 2-for-2, SB, run; Taylor Varsho run, RBI; Raelyn Wingert 1-for-3, RBI; Baierl RBI; Becky Boehning 1-for-2, run.
Records: Antigo 15-9; Marshfield 14-9.
