By Mike Ramczyk
Correspondent
Sometimes, it’s better to be lucky than good.
Well, the Burlington high School softball squad was both Monday afternoon in a WIAA Division 1 state quarterfinal just outside Green Bay against Cedarburg, and it resulted in a dramatic walk-off victory.
With two outs in the decisive bottom of the seventh inning, Kayla Warner’s seemingly routine bunt was fielded by Bulldogs pitcher Paytn Monticelli, and it looked like the game was heading into extra innings.
But Monticelli’s bullet to first base popped in and out of Maddie Moser’s glove, and Meagan Baumeister, who opened the inning with a walk, paused a few steps past third before sprinting home.
Her head-first slide won the game in sudden-death fashion, and it looked like Burlington’s bench was competing in the hurdles with how high all of the players jumped onto the field, onto Baumeister and even onto the ground in jubilation.
A stroke of luck was exactly what the Demons needed for the 4-3 victory after Monticelli’s three-run blast tied things up in the top of the sixth after Burlington had dominated the entire game.
It was Burlington’s first state tournament victory since it was runner-up in 2018.
The Demons play Kaukauna, the top seed, in a D1 semifinal Monday at UW-Green Bay at 7 p.m.
The winner advances to the championship game Wednesday at 3 p.m.
To read a complete report on the quarterfinal and semifinal games see the July 1 edition of the Burlington Standard Press.
-
-
-
-
-