Warner perfect in 5-inning win; Pirates get last two in ECC play

GILMAN SOFTBALL

Gilman pitcher Addy Warner seems to have found a groove at the right time and her Pirate teammates hope to take advantage as the WIAA Division 5 postseason arrives.

On the heels of a 14-strikeout performance at Greenwood-Loyal Friday, Warner threw a five-inning perfect game Tuesday in a 15-0 blowout at Colby-Abbotsford to close the Eastern Cloverbelt Conference season. She registered 14 more strikeouts, with a bunted pop-up to catcher Madisyn James being the only ball Colby-Abbotsford put in play.

Warner goes into Gilman’s record books as the first Pirate pitcher to strike out 200 batters in a season. She is up to 207 after Tuesday’s win.

“She just got into a zone and it was just fun to watch,” Gilman head coach Brian Phelps said. “She is in such a nice rhythm right now.”

The win put Gilman at 9-3 in the final conference standings, good for third place. The Pirates were 12-7 overall heading into their WIAA Div. 5 regional semifi nal with Clear Lake, which got moved up to Wednesday. The winner will likely play at second-seeded Thorp in a regional final on Wednesday, June 16.

After a competitive 8-3 game in Gilman in the teams’ first meeting on May 7, the Pirates made sure Tuesday’s game was not nearly as close. They jumped ahead 12-0 with three first-inning runs, five more in the second and four in the third. Three in the fifth put it away.

Several players feasted on Colby-Abbotsford pitching. Hannah Vick led the way by going four for four. Madisyn James was two for four with a walk and three runs scored. Warner was two for two and drew three walks. Bryn Hendricks was two for four and drove in three runs. Tatum Weir was one for two with a double, two runs driven in, two runs scored and two walks. Freshman Katelynn Koziol got some playing and went one for two with two walks and a run scored.

The Pirates also have added a nonconference game at Edgar, which is set for Friday at 4:45 p.m.

Gilman 5, G-L 2

The Pirates got a big one Friday, knocking Greenwood-Loyal out of a potential tie for the conference championship with a 5-2 win at Greenwood.

The Pirates took a 3-0 lead in the first two innings, the hosts cut it to 3-2 in the fifth but Gilman got two big insurance runs in the seventh and dropped Greenwood- Loyal to 10-2 in league play, one game behind 11-1 Neillsville.

“We probably played our best defensive game of the year on Friday,” Phelps said. “We had one error and that was on a slicing line drive to rightfield. Addy had 14 strikeouts with four walks. She mixed it well and got some big strikeouts when we needed them.”

Already up 1-0 Gilman added to its lead in the second when Bailey Angell and Hendricks walked and Tychelle Duellman singled to load the bases for Gracie Tallier, who knocked in Angell and Hendricks with a base hit.

The big seventh-inning rally started with a Hendricks single. Ava Warner bunted her to second, then Duellman, James and Addy Warner singled to move runners around and score two.

That cushion was welcome as Greenwood- Loyal threatened in the seventh, putting two runners on, but a strikeoutthrow out double play ended the game as James threw to Weir at third base to nail Greenwood-Loyal’s Kaitlyn Lindner for the final out of the game as she tried to swipe the base.

Duellman, James and Addy Warner all went two for four. Vick was two for three with two doubles and a walk. A diving catch in centerfield prevented her from getting a third extra-base hit. Hendricks was one for two with a walk and two runs scored.

“It’s been fun watching our young players and the progress they’ve made during the season,” Phelps said. “They’ve made so much progress with things like understanding coverages and communicating better. Its been fun to watch it.”

Neillsville 8, Gilman 5

The Pirates were eliminated from title contention, while Neillsville clinched at least a championship tie on Thursday when the Warriors came to Gilman and earned an 8-5 win.

The Warriors jumped ahead 3-0 in the top of the first, Gilman fought back and led 5-4 after five, then Neillsville won it with a five-run sixth inning, mixing in a couple of hits, a couple of walks and a couple of Pirate miscues.

“As a team we just weren’t as sharp in that game,” Phelps said. “I thought we had kind of gathered ourselves and were in good position after the fifth, but then we gave it back in the sixth.”

Tallier was three for four with a double and two runs scored. James was three for three with a walk. Duellman was two for five with two runs scored. Angell was two for four and Addy Warner was one for two with two walks. Warner struck out nine batters and walked six.

“We talked after the game that if we are going to take that next step, we have to start figuring out how to win these close games,” Phelps said. “We kind of let one slip away.”