By Murray Gleffe
Correspondent
GREEN BAY – As the sun was shining and temperatures approached 70 degrees, two of the top teams in Wisconsin did battle for Fox River Classic Conference supremacy.
On this day, Ashwaubenon (16-1 overall, 12-0 FRCC) swept Green Bay Preble (16-5, 12-3) by scores of 3-0 and 6-2 in contests held May 4 at the Finger Road Softball Complex and thus remained undefeated in conference play.
“These two wins were very critical for us to continue our goal towards winning a conference championship,” said Jaguars head coach Shannon VanLaanen. “It’s always a tough place to play, and we made some key plays today when it mattered most.”
Kate Cleveland gave up no runs in game one as the Jaguars prevailed over the Hornets in a swift one-hour contest where hits and runs were at a minimum.
In game two, the Hornets struck first.
Keegan Piton got a base hit after a force out was made at second.
A bit later, with two outs, Ally Eden and Claire Price connected on back-to-back singles to bring Piton home and give the Hornets a 1-0 lead.
It was short-lived, however, as the Jaguars got their bats cranking in the bottom of the first.
With Zion Estano and Chloe Brabant on base, Cleveland doubled to center off an 0-2 pitch to give the Jaguars a 2-1 lead.
“I anticipated the pitches in the second game real well,” said Estano. “We as a team got some big hits to extend innings.”
Josie Hilbert collected an RBI after she brought Cleveland home with a blooper to left to give Ashwaubenon a two-run lead.
“Kate did an unbelievable job on the mound today, but she also got some clean looks at the plate,” added VanLaanen. “She deserves more credit for being a great hitter as well.”
After a couple of scoreless innings, Ashwaubenon added to their lead in the bottom of the fourth.
Estano and Cleveland connected on doubles to start the inning, with the latter going under the fence for a mandated two-base jaunt scoring Estano.
After a wild pitch and walk to Anna Wendorf, Kally VanLaanen ripped a single past the shortstop, giving the Jaguars a 5-1 lead.
Another run was added, and suddenly the Jaguars had opened the game wide open.
The Hornets managed to score an additional run in the top of the 6th, but it was too late as the Jaguars completed the sweep.
“Its hard to score when you go up against a very good pitcher,” said Preble head coach Ron Metzler. “I thought our pitchers did a good job, but we just couldn’t get enough offense to keep pace with a very good Ashwaubenon team.”
Box Score (Game 1):
Ashwaubenon: 110 001 0—3
Green Bay Preble: 000 000 0—0
Box Score (Game 2):
Green Bay Preble: 100 001 0—2
Ashwaubenon: 300 300 x—6
