Falls Needs Uncharateristic Rally to Capture Regional Title

Menomonee Falls has been on quite a roll throughout the spring.

Since May 14, the Indians softball team has outscored its opponents, 109-14.  So it was a bit unnerving for the Indians when they found themselves down by four runs going into the bottom of the third inning of Thursday's WIAA Division 1 regional game against Kettle Moraine.

Falls, however, fought back to tie the game and came away with the regional softball title. The Indians scored six runs in the sixth inning and rolled to an 11-5 victory over Kettle Moraine at the Little League Complex in Menomonee Falls. The regional title was the third in a row for Falls.

“When we fell behind, it was sort of a wake-up call,” shortstop Hailey Mohrfeld said.  “We were a little nervous at first. We all know that in the playoffs,  it’s do or die. But we’ve learned that it’s all right to be nervous.”

Falls, the No. 1 seeded team going into the sectional, improved its record to 19-1 and will host Oconomowoc, which defeated Arrowhead 10-2 in the regional final at Arrowhead.

“We really excited about winning the regional title,” Mohrfeld said. “We’ve already accomplished a lot this season and we’re hoping to do even more.”

The decisive sixth inning started with sophomore pinch-hitter Liz Feltman belting a single.

“We wanted to give her a shot,” Falls coach Wendy Wolff said of bringing Feltman into the game. “She’s been a clutch hitter for us all season.”

Singles by Rachel Kemnitz and Rachel Defnet loaded the bases. All three runs scored on a single by Jamie Ertl and a throwing error as the Indians took an 8-5 lead. Falls scored the final three runs on a single by Mohrfeld, a triple by Hailey Wilson and a sacrifice fly by Maddie Eikenmeyer.

The Indians ended up with 15 hits in the game. Mohrfeld led the way with four hits and Defnet added three hits for Falls.

“This was really a group effort,” Wolff said. “They really pulled together.”

Kettle Moraine, which hammered out a 14-11 victory over Waukesha North in the opening round Tuesday, came out swinging against Falls pitcher Nicole Zywiec.  With one out in the first inning, Katie McCann and Hannah Foltz singled and scored on a double by Maria Crawford.

Mohrfeld singled with two outs and scored on a single to center field by Eikenmeyer to make it 2-1.

Zywiec struck out the side in the second inning, but was hit hard by the Lasers in the third inning. With one out, McCann singled. The next hitter, Foltz, blasted a shot over the fence that barely went foul. She ended up getting a walk.  Two batters later Maddie Churches homered to give the Lasers a 5-1 lead.

Nicole Weggen knocked in two runs with a single and Mohrfeld added an RBI single to cut the Lasers' lead to one. Mohrfeld singled in another run in the fourth to tie the game.