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Poynette Returns to State for 12th time, sixth time in past 11 seasons with 6-2 win over Westby

06/03/2022, 7:45am CDT
By Contributed

Two seniors contribute four of team's seven hits

12th Final Four Appearance puts Poynette third all-time among all WIAA schools, trailing Stevens Point (15) and Oakfield (14)

The Southwest Sectional representative at the WIAA State Tournament and Final Four runs through Poynette again.

After falling 1-0 in nine innings a year ago to eventual state champion Dodgeville, the the Pumas, behind a stellar pitching performance by junior Holly Lowenberg and some timely hitting beat Westby 6-2. Most notably the hitting was led by the team's two seniors, Ashia Meister and Abby Klink. 

Lowenberg surrendered three hits, struck out 14 Norse batters and walked none. Two of the three hits came on back-to-back safeties in the sixth inning while trailing 5-2. Lowenberg also doubled to rigthcenter in the game for the Pumas.

In the Poynette first Meister laced a liner inside the rightfield foul line for a leadoff triple and after a strikeout was moved home on a safety squeeze by shortstop Brooke Steinhorst who later also single in the second to help set up a big inning for the Pumas. 

In the third inning Westby pitcher Jada Berg drilled freshman Morgan Gunderson with one out. Steinhorst followed with her single and when Berg drilled Lowenberg the bases were loaded for the fifth hitter, Kassidy McCaffery. The freshman utility player hit a hard liner at second sacker Ella Johnson who misplayed the ball and it made it into the short rightcenter field allowing Gunderson and Steinhorst to score making it 3-0. When freshman catcher Emma Gavinski singled to the right side courtesy runner Cedi Lapacek raced home with the fourth run. Klink then stepped in and drove a 3-2 pitch to center which scored McCaffery making it 5-0.

The game stayed the same on the scoreboard and in on the side of the Westby scorebook as Lowenberg kept striking out Norse batters. In the top of the sixth Westby's #8 batter, Whitney Hanson laced one to the fence in rightcenter for a triple and when the #9 batter, Olivia Nedland singled home the run and then stole second and third base before scoring on infield grounder to Meister at second to make it a 5-2 game and seemingly give life to the Norse. 

Klink and the Pumas would have nothing to do with a come-back for Westby however. In the bottom of the sixth Klink led off with single before junior first sacker Laken Wagner hit a hard, one-hop comebacker to Berg in the circle. The junior lefty however, chose to get Wagner at first allowing Klink to scoot into second. After a strikeut  Berg got ahead of Meister but the senior hung in there and on the 8th pitch of that at-bat lined a screamer up the middle to chase Klink home and all but settle Westby's fate. 

In the the seventh Lowenberg short work of things with a pop out to shortstop and her 13th and 14th strikeouts which ended the game and created a jumping frenzy in the pitcher's circle as the Puma dugout erupted and stormed the field to join the rest their teammates.

Meister and Klink led the hitting attack for Poynette each getting two hits including Meister's first-inning double.

The Pumas won back-to-back state titles in 2018 and 2019 and missed out on a chance for a three-peat in 2020 due to the cancellation of the season caused by COVID-19. 

Poynette will make its 12th Final Four Appearance in program history at Goodman Diamond on the UW Campus next week and will joined in the Division 3 field by Baldwin-Woodville (last year's State Runnerup in Division 2), New Holstein and Wautoma. The seeding meeting is Saturday morning.

 

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