Co-op bounced in first round by Lakeland

The Colby-Abbotsford softball team saw their season come to an end in Minocqua last Thursday. The tenth seeded co-op fell to the sixth-seeded Lakeland Thunderbirds 8-0 in the first round of the WIAA Division 2 playoffs.

The visiting Colby-Abby squad played well defensively through six of the seven innings of their sole playoff game. Starting pitcher Tatum Bargender led the co-op’s effort by navigating Lakeland’s lineup and tossing three shutout innings. While the Thunderbirds were able to push across a run in the bottom of the first, the Colby-Abby defense was able to limit the damage to just that single score. They followed that with a shutout in the second inning.

The third inning was where things started to get out of hand. Lakeland put up a big crooked number in the bottom half of the frame, scoring five runs and taking a commanding 6-0 lead over the co-op. In some games, a six-run lead may not seem insurmountable, but in Thursday afternoon’s contest, those six runs had the feel of something more.

That feeling was largely a product of the fact that the Colby-Abby lineup had struggled to find any traction against Thunderbird’s pitcher Saylor Timmerman. Unfortunately for the visitors, it was a theme that would continue throughout the game. Timmerman’s pitching made baserunners a premium for the co-op, and even in the situations where they found themselves with a runner on, they could not quite find a way to get them back home.

“I give the Lakeland Union pitcher a huge tribute to her ability to keep our bats silent,” head coach Glen Orsburn said. “We attempted to prepare for her speed yet we weren’t able to adjust. I was looking to have us pick up the ball earlier from her release or get the bats out in the strike zone to get the bat on the ball yet it didn’t happen.”

Still, Colby-Abby gave themselves an opportunity to come back after shutting down the Thunderbirds in the fourth and fifth innings. A pitching change from Lakeland in the sixth gave the co-op a shot at someone other than Timmerman and it looked like they might just be able to take advantage of it. Bargender worked a walk with just one out in the inning, but two fly ball outs quickly snuffed out the potential for a rally.

The Thunderbirds added two insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth and while Josie Higley would reach second for the co-op in the top of the first, she would be stranded there, the game ending 8-0.

The co-op finished the season with an overall record of 4-10 and placed fifth in the Cloverbelt-East. With the relatively few numbers, the team faced some challenges when injuries came into play.

“I believe the team handled this adversity well,” Orsburn said. “It was a great example of how a team had to function with less to survive and to keep a team on the field. Each player was expected to become the best they could, and to contribute to our team’s success. Each player did that in the best way they could. I hope these life lessons are something they can learn from and understand that life hands you choices and making choices affects the results.”

While they could not add their second playoff win since the co-op was formed, they will have the opportunity to return their entire roster from this season next year, as none of the starters from the Lakeland playoff game will be graduating. Orsburn hopes that the lessons learned this season can be applied to next year’s team, especially with the possibility of all of the team’s starters returning.

“[A couple] takeaways from this year are individual growth, team work by being selfless to serve others, and building more confidence,” Orsburn said of the season. “I hope that they don’t want to settle for what was, yet to look toward what we could be. We need to grow individually by getting others interested in the sport, being a student to the game and to participate in the off season by playing in more games, preparing yourself for the upcoming season so that you can take your game to a higher level. The way teams become more successful is by growing your competitive side by inviting others to take on the challenges of the game. Nothing beats fastpitch softball.”