By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – The Marshfield softball team knew it would have its hands full when battling one of the top teams in the state in Chippewa Falls on Thursday in a WIAA Division 1 sectional championship game.
For 3 ½ innings, the Tigers held their own against the fourth-ranked team in the state, according to the Wissports.net Coaches Poll, but the Cardinals exploded with a five-run fourth and walked away with an 11-1 win at the Marshfield Fairgrounds.
Chippewa Falls (23-3) moves on to the WIAA State Softball Tournament for the second straight season and the sixth time in the past nine seasons. The Cardinals will play the winner of Friday’s game between Verona and La Crosse Central in a Division 1 quarterfinal next Thursday at approximately 3:30 p.m. at the Goodman Diamonds in Madison.
The Cardinals totaled 18 hits, 16 over the final four innings, to push past Marshfield and end the Tigers’ playoff run. Marshfield finishes the season with a 15-10 record.
“Compared to where we were last year at this time, it’s a complete turnaround,” Marshfield coach Mike Voss said. “A lot of it, for us, started with our defense. Our defensive play was much better than it was a year ago, as well as our pitching. It was a lot more consistent.
“A lot of the girls had an extra year of experience under them this year. When they got in there they were a lot more confident and made things happen.
Chippewa Falls pitcher Kendra Bowe shut down the Tigers the first time through the batting order, striking out six of the first nine batters she faced.
After Chippewa Falls scored a run in the third on an RBI single by Jordyn Hubin, Marshfield finally got to the Cardinals’ freshman ace.
Andie Varsho led off with a single, stole second and went to third on a sacrifice bunt by Lindsey Duerr. After a strikeout, Raelyn Wingert singled to left to tie the game at 1-1. Rhiannon Baierl followed with a single, but the Tigers couldn’t scratch home another run. The run was the first allowed by Bowe in three playoff games this season.
“For the first couple innings, she (Bowe) seemed to have our number,” Voss said. “The few we did make contact, we didn’t seem to be making very strong contact. It wasn’t anything that we haven’t seen all season. It could have been nerves, I suppose, but we just got off to a slow start.”
The Cardinals left five runners on the base through the first three innings, but weren’t about to get frustrated and made the most of their next opportunity in the fourth against Baierl.
Five straight singles with two outs and a wild pitch plated five runs for Chippewa Falls. Bowe did the rest.
Bowe allowed only one baserunner over the final two innings – a sixth-inning single by Duerr – and the Cardinals scored three more times in the fifth and twice in the sixth to win the game via the 10-run rule.
“Kendra has been, obviously, our glue all year. I feel she’s probably going to be an all-state pitcher,” Chippewa Falls coach Jared Faherty said. “She’s been dominating all year and with her out there we feel pretty good. We feel people are going to have to really earn the runs that they get.”
Marshfield loses four seniors, including four-time Wisconsin Valley Conference batting champion Andie Varsho, and three other starters – right fielder Hayley Umhoefer, first baseman Morgan Chaffin and Wingert, the starting catcher.
For Varsho, who will be taking her softball talents to the Big Ten and Purdue University in the fall, the strong playoff run was a great way to end a stellar, three-sport career at Marshfield High School that included state tournament appearances in tennis and basketball, and likely four all-state selections in softball.
“It was very unexpected,” Varsho said of the Tigers’ postseason run. “It’s a great way to end my high school career, getting the farthest I ever have. It’s not great to end it this way, but to end it going the farthest we have gone in a while.”
Cardinals 11, Tigers 1
Marshfield 000 100 – 1 4 2
Chippewa Falls 001 532 – 11 18 0
WP: Kendra Bowe. LP: Rhiannon Baierl.
SO: Baierl 0; Bowe 7. BB: Baierl 2; Bowe 0.
Top hitters: M, Andie Varsho 1-for-3, run, SB; Lindsey Duerr 1-for-2, sac; Raelyn Wingert 1-for-3, RBI; Baierl 1-for-2. CF, Megan Schnobrich 3-for-5, 2B, 2 runs, RBI; Carissa Maes 3-for-5, 2 runs, 4 RBIs; Evie Schaller 2-for-4, run, RBI; Jordyn Hubin 3-for-4, run, 2 RBIs; Bowe 2-for-3; Val Hayes 1-for-2, 2B, 2 runs; Emily Holldorf 2-for-3, run, SB.
Records: Marshfield 15-10; Chippewa Falls 23-3.
