Port softball’s playoff run ends in pitchers’ duel

The deepest playoff stretch since 2009 for the Port Washington High School softball team came to a close at the arm of a  Wisconsin Lutheran freshman lefty last Thursday in Lake Mills.

Sydney Vitangcol allowed one hit and one walk while whiffing 12 Pirates in a 2-0 win in a Division 2 sectional final.

Port senior Ashley Zygowski nearly matched her, putting down Viking batters in order from the second through the sixth innings, whiffing 11 and allowing no hits.

“That was a good game. She was a really good pitcher. She had really good movement,” Zygowski said.

“Our team just couldn’t come with the bats.”

“It was a pitcher’s battle. I’m proud of my girl,” coach Ben Navigato said. “They did what they had to do to try to fight back.”

“She was throwing a lot inside. That’s what was getting us,” senior shortstop Peyton Mueller-Stenz said. “We had really good defense, just couldn’t score.”

Vitangcol, who also bats lefty, laced a triple down the left-field line to lead off the seventh inning. One throwing and one fielding error by third baseman Emily Pujanauski and a fielding error by Sierra Miller helped two unearned runs score.

Senior Kate Cavanaugh moved over from first base to relieve Zygowski after she stepped in a hole following through on a pitch and tweaked her left ankle. Cavanaugh whiffed a batter with the bases juiced to end the rally.

The Pirates had three outs to get two runs in their half of the seventh. They went down in order, sending the Vikings into a frenzy and Port to tears.

Mueller-Stenz had the Pirates’ only hit in the game. Port had seen top pitching during the season — Cedarburg’s Patyn Monticelli throws 68 mph — but Vitangcol was different.

“This one had movement. Cedarburg just throws heat,” Cavanaugh said.

“We haven’t faced a lefty pitcher this year,” Mueller-Stenz said.

Port finished 13-10 overall but accomplished something no Pirate team has done since a trip to the state tournament 13 years ago: Win a regional title.

“We’re happy with it. Our goal was to get a plaque,” Cavanaugh said.

“I thought we had a really good season. We got our plaque we’ve been wanting for 13 years,” Zygowski said.

“Overall, it was a super good season. We had super talented freshmen, a really good senior class.”

“Where we started freshman year and where we got I wouldn’t trade for the world,” Mueller-Stenz said.

The trio of seniors were the team’s captains.

“I love these seniors. They put us on the map. I’m proud of ’em. They deserve it. Not me, not my coaches,” Navigato said.

“Just very proud of being a coach for these girls, for this team. I couldn’t ask for a better team, couldn’t ask for a better heart.”

No. 4-seeded Port reached the sectional final by beating No. 2-seeded New Berlin West on the road, 5-3, in extra innings two days earlier. On May 27, Port won on the same field where its season ended, dominating No. 1-seeded Lake Mills, 10-2, in a regional final, the first of two No. 1 seeds the Pirates faced. The other was Wisconsin Lutheran.

“That was a really good game,” Zygowski said of the win over Lake Mills.

“That felt really good just to fight through and know we could do it. We really had our hearts set on getting a plaque,” Mueller-Stenz said.

“We’ve been underdogs all season. They didn’t take us seriously,” Cavanaugh said.

For Navigato, this was a team he hadn’t had before.

“They’re always fighting. They’re giving it their all. They sweat, they work hard in practice. I haven’t had a bunch like this,” he said.

“They did something that hasn’t been done here in a long time.”