Softball teams peak at the right time

The Port Washington and Grafton high schools’ softball teams didn’t have the regular seasons they wanted, but they each earned at least one positive playoff memory on Monday.

Port, seeded No. 5 in Division 2, knocked off No. 4-seeded Kewaskum on the road, 8-3.

No. 7-seeded Grafton topped Wisconsin Lutheran on the road, 7-3.

Zygowski, Mueller-Stenz, Mrozek lead Port

The Pirates broke open a scoreless pitchers’ duel in the fourth inning. Junior Ava Mrozek laced a line drive to center field, and Ashley Zygowski followed with a similar hit.

Then Kate Cavanaugh pulled a line drive down the left-field line to score one run. A wild pitch scored another, and Cavanaugh came in on a sacrifice bunt by senior JoJo Czarnecki.

On the rubber, Zygowski had been rolling along, whiffing eight straight batters from the second through fourth innings.

She ended up with 13 strikeouts while allowing three runs, four hits and walking three.

“I knew we were coming in with some fierce competition so I decided to keep (my pitches) rise ball and outside for sure, because I knew if I gave them (pitches) down the middle they were going to hit it,” Zygowski said.

The plan, she said, was to “get ahead in the count right away and take it from there.”

“When she’s on she’s dominating. When she’s off, she’s still dominating. We’ve just got to have our defense behind her,” coach Ben Navigato said.

Once Port got ahead, Zygowski’s confidence rose just like her fastball.

“I knew I had a good defense to back me up and I was ready for whatever they could hit,” she said.

In the top of the fifth inning, leadoff hitter Peyton Mueller-Stenz destroyed a ball with a towering shot to left center field that even Kewaskum fans knew was instantly over the fence.

Mueller-Stenz did too.

“When it hits the bat, you hear the sound. It feels amazing,” she said.

Touching all the bases in one fell swoop wasn’t her initial approach.

“At first I was going to bunt and missed the ball. I had two strikes and she (pitcher Anna Theusch) gave me my outside high and I kind of just went with it,” Mueller-Stenz said.

In the seventh inning, Mueller-Stenz pounded a one-out double over the left fielder’s head that sparked a four-run rally to pull away.

“I also was trying to bunt and I missed that. She gave me an inside low, which I typically don’t hit but I found my barrel and it felt good,” she said.

Mueller-Stenz ended up 3-for-4 with a double, home run, one RBI and two runs scored.

“She’s my leadoff hitter but she’s got power too. I like to see that in a leadoff hitter,” Navigato said.

Mrozek, the team’s catcher, was 3-for-4 with two RBI and one run scored.

“My little right-handed slap hitter. She just makes contact and she hustles behind that plate, blocking as many balls as she can,” Navigato said.

Cavanaugh had two walks, a double, RBI and scored twice. Zygowski had a single and scored two runs.

The win was a relief for Navigato, after ending the season on a seven-game losing streak.

“I was praying to God that it breaks eventually,” he said.

For Kewaskum, Theusch allowed eight hits, two walks and hit two batters while striking out eight in seven innings.

The Indians scored two runs in the fifth inning that cut Port’s lead to 4-2, and added one run in the seventh. No Indian had more than one hit.

Kewaskum finished 11-13. Port, 7-17, was to play at No. 1-seeded New Berlin West (18-4) on Wednesday.

Thompson’s defense keys Grafton’s win

Senior Sara Paschke went the distance for the Black Hawks, allowing three runs and whiffing eight batters while walking just one.

She got help from backup pitcher Dani Thompson, who made two game-changing relay throws at first base.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, after the Hawks had retaken the lead, 5-3, the Vikings’ leadoff hitter clocked a triple.

The next hitter grounded to Paschke, who looked the runner back to third, then fired to first. The runner took off for home, and Thompson fired to catcher Reese Konczal, who put on the tag and then held up the ball to show she still had it in what coach Mike Bergmann called a “bang-bang play.”

It was bigger than just a double play; it was a momentum builder for the Hawks and a bouncer for the Vikings.

The Hawks tacked on two more runs in the sixth inning. The Vikings tried to rally in the seventh but Thompson stopped that again.

A leadoff double was followed by a grounder to shortstop Ivana Micic in the hole. Micic looked the runner back and threw to first, but the batter beat the ball to the bag.

The Viking on second broke for third, and Thompson rocketed the ball to Megan Crass, who ended up in a pile with the Viking. She pulled up her glove to show she hung on to the ball, and the runner was out.

Paschke whiffed the next batter and got the No. 4 hitter to line out to Micic, ending the game.

“We played very well. It was a solid game for us all around,” Bergmann said.

At the plate, Paschke continued her consistently hot season, reaching base and scoring three times. The one at-bat she didn’t get on base was an RBI groundout.

In the fifth, when the Hawks took the lead for good, Paschke got on base and advanced to second thanks to Jenna Isaacson. Thompson clocked a one-out RBI double, and Alicia Melotik followed with an RBI double.

While the Hawks only improved to 5-16 and the Vikings ended 11-9, Bergmann said playing outside of the North Shore Conference helps. Port and Grafton are the only Division 2 teams and have fewer students than their Division 1 competitors.

“When we get into the playoffs, we’re playing schools our size. It’s a level playing field. It’s about who is playing well at that time,” Bergmann said.

The Hawks were to play at No. 2-seeded Kettle Moraine Lutheran (10-10) in the Town of Jackson on Wednesday, with the winner playing the winner of the Port and New Berlin West game on Monday.