Wausau Pilot & Review
RHINELANDER – The Wausau West softball team opened its season by splitting a pair of games at the Rhinelander Invitational on Friday inside the Hodag Dome.
West lost its opener to Medford 9-5 before coming back to defeat Athens 16-2 in a consolation game.
Medford hit a walk-off grand slam home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to lift the Raiders to the first-round win over West.
West scored twice in the top of the first on a two-run homer by Taylor Liebelt, before Medford retaliated with five runs in the bottom of the frame.
West fought back to tie the game on an RBI single by Liebelt and an error in the third, and a Caitlin Krantz RBI double in the top of the seventh before Medford walked it off.
Krantz finished 3-for-4 and Liebelt had two hits, three RBI and three runs scored in the Game 1 loss.
In the win over Athens, West scored 11 runs in the bottom of the second inning to take control.
Hughes, Liebelt, Sadie Peissig, Ella Wendling and Addy Heil each had two hits for the Warriors, who cracked out 13 in all in the victory. Hughes and Peissig each drove in three runs.
West will take on the loser of the Stratford-Drummond semifinal at 10:45 a.m. Saturday for third-place in its tournament bracket.
Raiders 9, Warriors 5
Wausau West 202 000 1 – 5 8 4
Medford 500 000 4 – 9 8 3
WP: Martha Miller. LP: Ella Wendling.
SO: Wendling (4 inn.) 2, Rachel Harder (2 1/3 inn.) 1; Miller 14. BB: Wendling 3, Harder 0; Miller 2.
Top hitters: WW, Autumn Hughes 2×4, 2B; Taylor Liebelt 2×2, HR, 3 runs, 3 RBI; Caitlin Krantz 3×4, RBI. M, Seidel 3×3, 2B, 2 RBI; Leonard 2×4, 2B, HR, 4 RBI.
Records: Wausau West 0-1; Medford 1-0.
Warriors 16, Bluejays 2
Athens 200 00 – 2 1 6
Wausau West 2(11)2 1x – 16 13 3
WP: Harder. LP: Danica Diethelm.
SO: Diethelm (2 inn.) 1, Paige Westaby (1 inn.) 2, Celina Ellenbecker (1 inn.) 0; Hughes (2 inn.) 1, Harder (3 inn.) 1. BB: Diethelm 3, Westaby 2, Ellenbecker 0; Hughes 3, Harder 0.
Top hitters: WW, Izzy Gullickson 3 runs; Hughes 2×4, 3 RBI; Liebelt 2×4, 2 runs, 2 RBI; Sadie Peissig 2×3, 2B, 2 runs, 3 RBI; Wendling 2×2, 2B, 2 runs, 2 RBI; Addy Heil 2×4, 2 runs; Grace Huggenvik 2B, RBI.
Records: Wausau West 1-1; Athens 0-2.
