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On Thursday, it finally happened.
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Winona Cotter's Whitney Wisecup gets caught in a rundown as Fillmore Central/Lansboro pitcher Alison Scheevel gives chase during the Ramblers' Section 1AA East Sub-Section game against the Falcons Thursday in Winona. (Photo by Andrew Link/Winona Daily News) |
Buege hit her first home run of the season — a three-run blast — to lead Cotter High School’s softball team to an 11-1 win over Fillmore Central/ Lanesboro in the first round of the sub-section 1AA east tournament at Cotter Field.
The second-seeded Ramblers will face third-seeded Spring Grove/Caledonia at 11 a.m. Saturday in Saint Charles.
“I got really excited because I’ve been hitting a lot of ground balls,” said Buege, who admitted she was trying to hit a home run. “I was waiting for it.
“I felt like I had to live up to what I did last year.”
The junior shortstop belted a team-leading seven home runs last year, but waited until the fourth inning of the 20th game for her first this season.
“That was very encouraging,” Cotter coach Pat Bowlin said. “(Wednesday) in practice she hit the bottom of the fence, so we’ve kind of been waiting.
“We were hoping something like this would happen to get her confidence going.”
Buege didn’t seem to lack any confidence Thursday.
In the second inning, Buege laced a shot down the left-field line, delivering a two-out, two-run double to give Cotter a 6-0 lead.
With one out and two on in the fourth, the wait ended. Buege hit a towering shot to straightaway center field, scoring Allie Gernes and Whitney Wisecup and giving the Ramblers a 10-0 lead.
Buege went 2-for-3 with two runs and five RBIs. Gernes went 3-for-4 with a double, two runs, two RBIs and her second walk-off hit in three days.
In a 3-1 win over Pine Island on Tuesday, Gernes drilled a walk-off home run off the scoreboard.
It was less dramatic Thursday.
FC/L’s Connor Nagle scored Katie Tellefson with a sacrifice fly in the top of the fifth to make it 10-1 and to delay the 10-run rule for at least one more inning.
Nicole Kirkvold led off Cotter’s half of the fifth with an infield single and advanced to second base when she realized nobody was covering the bag.
Two batters later, Gernes drilled an RBI line drive through the left side to end the game.
Lauren Bowlin, who had a two-run double in the first inning, allowed one hit and struck out three over two innings to earn the win.
“Right now, Lauren is our No. 1 pitcher,” Pat Bowlin said. “She’s pitched the majority of our big games, and she’s got the best location right now.”
Chelsea Cierzan and Wisecup combined to allow just one hit and one run the rest of the way in relief.
