At Marshall on Friday, May 15, the Lady Wildcats were narrowly defeated, 11-7: an improvement from their last matchup where Belleville was dominated by the Cardinals 9-2.

The Wildcats had 11 hits with six earned runs.

Junior Ryley Helwig was two for four with two runs scored; sophomore Alli Kowalski was three for three with three runs scored and three RBI; senior Claire Johnsrud was two for four with three RBI; and junior Tara Hanna was one for three with a double and two RBI.

Going the distance for the Wildcats was freshman Cassidy Heller, who walked two and struck out three while giving up nine earned runs on 12 hits.

“We kept pace with them on the hits, but they run the bases really well and took advantage of opportunities to advance bases to make scoring a bit easier on base hits,” Head Coach Connie Wunschel explained. “They scored two in the first inning via a homerun by their second batter, and I think the girls were taken aback by that. We didn’t play full well until the last four innings.”

The day before on Thursday, May 14, the Wildcats won a nailbiter against Monticello, 6-5.

Helwig pitched all seven innings for Belleville, giving up five runs on six hits – three were earned – while striking out one and walking two.

“Great defensive plays were made on both sides of the ball. This was a fun game to be a part of,” Wunschel stated.

Offensively, senior Taylor Wallom was two for four with one run scored; Helwig was one for one with two runs scored, one walk, one hit by pitch, and one double; Hanna was two for three with three RBI and a triple; Heller was two for four with one run scored; and junior Taylor Kenkel had a double.

On Tuesday, May 12, Belleville matched up against New Glarus in a Capitol Conference South showdown. The Wildcats came out on top, 16-2 in five innings.

“The Knights’ runs came in the third and fourth innings. Their leadoff batter reached both times and came around to score. In the third, Sprecher walked, and she was moved around by her teammates and the two errors we had for the game,” Wunschel said. “We scored in every inning, and we had four extra base hits.”

At the plate, the Wildcats were led by Kowalski who was two for four with a triple, two runs scored, and three RBI; Hanna was two for four as well with a double, two runs scored, and five RBI; Johnsrud had a triple, scored once, and had two RBI; junior Mariah Hustad had a double, scored twice, and had an RBI; and Wallom and Helwig were on base three times and scored three times each.

Defensively, Helwig pitched the entire game and got the win: she struck out five, walked two, and gave up two runs on two hits.