Portage County Gazette

By John Kemmeter

The second-ranked Stevens Point Area Senior High School (SPASH) softball team had its State Tournament hopes come to an end with a loss to seventh-ranked Chippewa Falls in a WIAA Division 1 Sectional Final at Fire Pro Field at Woyak Park in Plover Thursday, May 31.

As the rain falls, SPASH senior right fielder Halle Pavelski yells to celebrate her leadoff double in the bottom of fourth inning in the Panthers’ 4-1 loss to Chippewa Falls in a WIAA Division 1 Sectional Final at Fire Pro Field in Plover Thursday, May 31. (John Kemmeter photo)

In the seventh meeting between the two teams in the Sectional Finals or State Tournament in the last 10 years, Chippewa Falls (24-4) got out to a 4-0 lead and held off a late rally, as the Panthers fell 4-1 to finish their season 27-2.

“There’s no other way to say it, but it sucks,” said senior right fielder Halle Pavelski. “You go out there thinking you’re going to go to state, and then before you know it, there’s two rain delays later and you’re done.”

“We didn’t play our best game, especially defensively,” said SPASH softball head coach Tom Drohner. “Give them credit, they put the pressure on us and they’ve got an outstanding program and outstanding team.

“They thoroughly outplayed us, and sometimes you’ve just got to tip your cap to them and say, ‘great job,’” he said.

Going into the Sectional Final, SPASH was 5-1 in the postseason against Chippewa Falls since a 6-0 extra-inning victory in the 2009 State Championship Game, while the two teams split a pair of meetings this season, as the Panthers won 5-4 at home over Chippewa Falls April 28, and suffered what was their only season of this season with a 2-1 defeat at Chippewa Falls May 12.

SPASH senior Maddie Fink delivers a pitch during the Panthers’ 4-1 loss to Chippewa Falls in a WIAA Division 1 Sectional Final at Fire Pro Field in Plover Thursday, May 31. (John Kemmeter photo)

Chippewa Falls got out to an early lead Thursday night, as it followed a two-out single in the top of the first inning with a RBI double off SPASH senior pitcher and NCAA Division II Northern State University (SD) recruit Andrea Cherney to take a 1-0 lead.

After Chippewa Falls used three singles in the top of the third to load the bases with one out, senior Maddie Fink came on to pitch for the Panthers and got a pair of strikeouts to escape the jam, but Chippewa Falls threatened again coming out of the first of two rain delays in the fourth inning.

Following a leadoff double, a throwing error on a sacrifice bunt attempt allowed Chippewa Falls to score and take a 2-0 lead, and it added a RBI single later in the inning to go up 3-0.

Meanwhile, a fourth-inning double from Pavelski was SPASH’s only hit through the first five innings, while Chippewa Falls reached on an error to start the top of the sixth inning, then scored on a one-out RBI single to build a 4-0 lead.

The Panthers looked to rally in the bottom of the sixth, as senior center fielder and NCAA Division 1 University of Wisconsin recruit Ally Miklesh drew a leadoff walk, freshman left fielder Jenna Eilers singled, and Pavelski delivered a RBI single to score Ally Miklesh to make it 4-1 with nobody out and runners on first and second.

However, sophomore catcher and NCAA Division 1 University of Wisconsin-Green Bay recruit Sam Saloun followed with a line shot that was caught by the second baseman and Eilers was doubled off at second base, and Chippewa Falls got a groundout to end the inning.

“We needed something good, and it’s a game of inches,” said Drohner. “They got a lot of balls in between our short and our third baseman.

“And we hit it right at them in that particular case, which, if that ball gets over the second baseman’s head, now we’re sitting 4-2 with runners on second and third with no outs,” he said. “That’s how close the game is, and you’ve got your big hitters coming up. So it changed in a heartbeat right there.”

Chippewa Falls worked around a one-out single in the bottom of the seventh inning with a pair of fly outs to seal a 4-1 win and advance to the WIAA Division 1 State Quarterfinals after it scored four runs on 12 hits and four SPASH errors.

SPASH senior pitcher/first baseman Andrea Cherney (44) lines up to shake hands as Chippewa Falls celebrates following its 4-1 win over the Panthers in a WIAA Division 1 Sectional Final at Fire Pro Field at Woyak Park in Plover Thursday, May 31. (John Kemmeter photo)

“We had a great season,” said Pavelski. “We had a lot of great people on our team, and I couldn’t be happier with the teammates I had.

“We battled through some tough games, and you can’t win them all, someone’s got to win, someone’s got to lose,” she said. “And today we were on the wrong end of the deal.”

“They had a lot of hits, and it seemed like they always were going in the places we weren’t, and we were kind of the opposite,” said Drohner. “They hit the ball, they squared it up a ton, and we made some uncharacteristic errors.

“It’s a different game if we make some plays,” he said. “We don’t make plays and they capitalized on opportunities, and we talk about it all of the time and we do it to other people, it’s just reversed today and hat’s off to them.”

Cherney took the loss after she allowed one earned run on four hits, struck out two and walked none in 3 and 2/3 innings, while Fink didn’t allow an earned run on eight hits, struck out four and walked none in three and 1/3 innings. Pavelski went 2-for-3 with a double to lead the SPASH offense, which was limited to four hits.

“We just couldn’t get our bats going,” said Ally Miklesh. “And when we hit it, we hit it right to them.”

The loss was the final game for SPASH seniors Ally Miklesh, Pavelski, Cherney, Fink, shortstop Carly Fix and left fielder/pinch runner Jenna Bohanski, as Miklesh and Pavelski broke into the starting lineup as freshmen and were key contributors on the Panthers’ 2016 State Championship team.

“Winning a State Championship in 2016, that’s definitely the highlight of my career, and I’m so proud that I could’ve accomplished that here with the team that we had,” said Ally Miklesh. “This has been my family for the past five, six years.

“I’m so proud of being in this legacy, and SPASH softball means so much more than a team to me, it’s a family,” she said. “I’m proud to lead this team, and I can’t wait to see what they do in the future.”

“The seniors were a great group of kids to be around and made everything fun and positive,” said Drohner. “Ally is one of the great players we’ve had, the all-time leading hits person, she’s got a bunch of offensive records, the ultimate table-setter, and we’re obviously going to miss her roaming around in center field.

“Halle is a four-year starter who is an unbelievable kid and an unbelievable person and she’s fun to be around, and then you’ve got kids that have worked for roles,” he said. “Carly didn’t get a chance to hit a ton this year, but she fulfilled the role at shortstop that we needed her to fill and did a fantastic job. Bo gave us some time in the outfield, but also gave us a great baserunner off the bench.

“And then you have the two kids that pitched for us, Maddie and Andrea, and they did a great job,” he said. “A big part of what we did this year was with the seniors and we’re going to have some holes to fill, but fortunately for us we’ve got some good players coming up, so we’ll see what happens.”