The L-Cats took care of business by beating Grafton 7-2 in their opening game of WIAA tournament action.
Payton Quest got things going for the L-Cats in the first inning with a hard hit to the left center gap which brought in Tessa Kottwitz and Belle Topel. Taylor Wollin followed up by driving in Quest on a line drive single. Also driving in runs for the Cats were McKenna Grossman and Haydenn Sellnow. The L-Cats had a productive 13 hits on the night. Leading hitters for Lake Mills were Tessa Kottwitz, McKenna Grossman, and Belle Topel all going 2x3. Haydenn Sellnow also went 2x4 at the plate.
Grafton had two lone offensive highlights on the night with a solo homer each by Ivana Bankes and Dani Thompson.
The L-Cat defense showed itself to be rock solid on the night committing zero errors.
Junior pitcher Avery Chilson threw a convincing win in the circle giving up only 2 runs on 6 hits striking out seven and no walks in 5 innings. Sophomore hard-baller Ava Kleinfeldt came in relief for the L-Cats in the 6th and 7th innings and shut down Grafton the rest of the way. She threw a perfect 6 outs in the two innings striking out 4 of the 6. Dani Thompson was the losing pitcher for Grafton.
“We did what we needed to do to get a solid win,” said Coach Jim Clift. “We played excellent defense, hit the ball well, and Avery and Ava combined to pitch a solid game.” “Each opponent the rest of the way in the playoffs will present a different and progressively greater challenge. When we play confident, relaxed, aggressive softball we are at our best and that’s our focus each day," said L-Cat head coach Jim Clift.
The L-Cats move on to the WIAA Regional Championship and play host to Port Washington Thursday at Rotary Park.
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