Junior pitcher/third baseman Haley Raflik and the Pacelli Catholic High School softball team are set to take on Mishicot in the WIAA Division 4 State Semifinals Thursday, June 6. (John Kemmeter photo)

Portage County Gazette

By John Kemmeter

The Pacelli Catholic High School softball team is headed to the State Tournament for the third year in a row, after it beat Onalaska Luther in a WIAA Division 4 Sectional Final in Markesan Thursday, May 30.

The fifth-ranked and top-seeded Cardinals (19-6) broke open a tie game with nine consecutive runs to win 13-4 over Luther and advance to state, where they are set to take on second-ranked Mishicot (24-0) in the WIAA Division 4 State Semifinals at Goodman Diamond in Madison at approximately 9 p.m. Thursday, June 6.

“A lot of girls don’t get this opportunity, so we all feel really lucky,” said senior pitcher/third baseman Karah Kluck. “Especially the seniors that have gone three years.”

“It’s really exciting to go back,” said Pacelli softball head coach Ann Molski. “At the beginning of the year, that’s always a goal, but people don’t realize how difficult it is to get back there.

“We’ve played some really good ball the last couple of weeks, so we’re going back to state,” she said.

Senior pitcher/third baseman Karah Kluck is second on the Pacelli softball team with a .481 batting average, and leads the team with 35 RBI. (John Kemmeter photo)

Pacelli used a 9-8 win in eight innings over Marathon in the Sectional Semifinal Tuesday, May 28, to advance to the Sectional Final Thursday, where senior right fielder Teesa Shafranski had a two-run single in the top of the first inning to lead a four-run rally that gave the Cardinals a 4-0 lead.

However, Luther answered with four runs in the bottom half of the first inning off Pacelli junior pitcher Haley Raflik to tie the game at 4-4.

“I had confidence in us,” said Kluck. “When I saw that we could hit, I was like, ‘OK, we’re going to be good.’

“As long as we can keep our bats going, we’ll be good,” she said.

Sophomore courtesy runner Sami Miller stole home in the top of the second inning to give the Cardinals a 5-4 lead, and senior center fielder Sophie Schroeder scored on a dropped third strike in the top of the third to make it 6-4.

Junior shortstop Madi Hintz added a RBI double in the fourth and freshman catcher Jayden Hytry had a RBI double in the top of the fifth to push the lead to 8-4, which it remained going into the top of the seventh inning.

There, Pacelli got RBI doubles from Raflik and sophomore second baseman Briar Armatowski, a two-run triple from Kluck, and a RBI single from Schroeder to increase the lead to 13-4, and Raflik closed out Luther in the bottom of the seventh to send the Cardinals to state with a 13-4 victory.

“Haley hit her spots well and she moved the ball around, the girls hit well, and we played really well as a team,” said Molski. “It’s really nice to see it all came together.”

“We’re definitely playing better than we have all season,” said Schroeder. “We’ve really started to click, with everybody that’s playing their positions.”

This week Pacelli Catholic High School senior center fielder Sophie Schroeder was named one of six finalists for the Wisconsin Sports Network Outfielder Award, given to the top senior outfielder in the state. (John Kemmeter photo)

Pacelli finished with 17 hits in the win, as Hintz was 3-for-3 with a double and two runs scored, Armatowski went 3-for-5 with two doubles and two runs scored, Raflik was 3-for-5 with a double and three runs scored, Shafranski went 3-of-5 with two RBI, Hytry was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI, Kluck had a triple to go along with two runs scored and two RBI, and Schroeder added a double.

Raflik picked up the win after she allowed four earned runs on eight hits, walked four and struck out 12 in seven innings, as the Cardinals won for the fourth time in a row, following a 5-5 stretch to close out the regular season.

“We definitely have taken a step up, in our little chaotic path we’ve been going on,” said Raflik. “We’re really on an (upswing) now.”

“You look at the teams we lost to, we played some stiff competition, and it was some close games and some games that were closer than the score would show,” said Molski. “So we were right there, and now the last couple of games, we’ve had runners in scoring position and we’ve gotten it done.

“We’ve learned and grown, and that’s what you want to do,” she said. “You want to grow as you’re heading into the postseason.”

Of the four teams that advanced to state in Division 4, Pacelli received the third seed and is scheduled to take on second-seeded Mishicot in the State Semifinals Thursday night.

“They’re undefeated, and they’ve got a nice pitcher, they hit the ball soundly, and they play good defense,” said Molski. “I said, ‘kind of sounds like us,’ so it will be fun.

“It will be a good game,” she said.

“We can’t over think the situation,” said Hintz. “It’s a huge game and everything, but it all just comes down to the basics.

“We’ve all played ever since we were Tee Ball age, so we all love the sport, and that’s why we’re playing it,” she said. “So we just have to stay calm and collected.”

Junior shortstop/left fielder/catcher Madi Hintz leads the Pacelli softball team with a .516 batting average and three home runs this season, and is second on the team with 31 RBI. (John Kemmeter photo)

Sixth-ranked and fourth-seeded Thorp (19-6) will take on the defending Division 4 State Champion in top-ranked and top-seeded Horicon (23-1) in the other State Semifinal at 8 a.m. Friday, June 7, with the Division 4 State Championship Game at approximately 10:30 a.m. Saturday, June 8.

Last season, Pacelli lost 10-0 to Horicon in the State Semifinals to finish 25-1 overall, while the Cardinals will look to win their fourth WIAA State Title this weekend in their ninth appearance since 2002.

“We’re really excited,” said Shafranski. “We’re just going to come out and have fun, and just do our best.”

“We’re going to have to play our type of ball, and we’re going to have to just be consistent,” said Molski. “We’ve been consistent the last four games, and especially this last game, we scored every inning, we put pressure on the other team every inning, and that’s what we’re going to need to do.

“And we’ve got a group of girls who have been there before, the seniors and juniors, this is their third trip in a row,” she said. “So we’re going to see what we can do, and maybe bring home some hardware.”