MEDFORD POST 147 SOFTBALL - Post 147’s path to Legion title game included three dominant victories

On its way to the Wisconsin American Legion Division 1 state softball tournament championship games against Waupun, Medford’s Post 147 squad easily handled three of the other teams in the eight-team field.

Medford 11, Wausau 3

A 1-0 loss to Waupun Saturday afternoon sent Medford to an elimination game Sunday morning with a familiar foe, the Wausau Post 10 Patriots. The Patriots scored a run right off the bat, but Medford, playing as the home team, grabbed a 7-1 lead by the end of the second inning and cruised to an 11-3 win to earn its spot in the championship round.

Finley Arndt had a huge game out of the number-two spot in the batting order, going three for four with three doubles, four runs batted in and three runs scored. Rylee Hraby added two hits and two RBIs along with pitching 3.2 innings and recording four strikeouts.

Kailyn Haenel covered the last 3.1 innings and shut down Wausau’s one chance to get back in the game in the top of the fifth. With Medford leading 9-1, two doubles and a single had brought in a run and had two more runners in scoring position, but Haenel got an infield pop-up and two strikeouts to end any hope the Patriots had of getting back into it.

Arndt’s three-run double was the big hit in a four-run second inning. She doubled in another run in a two-run fourth. Steinman tripled to the leftfield corner to drive in Medford’s last two runs, though she was tagged out at home while trying to make it an inside-the-park home run.

“The girls came out and really took it to Wausau in that first game,” Medford head coach Justin Hraby said. “Finley had a big game. She hit the ball hard every time up, hitting three doubles and driving a bunch of runs. That was a definite shot in the arm. Rylee was solid in the circle and at the plate. Kailyn Haenel did a great job of eating up some innings in the circle as well. That was huge for us. Ruthie's tworun triple really locked it down as she hit that ball very well to the opposite field. We hit the ball well all over the field.”

Medford 7, Shawano 3

On Friday evening, Medford scored four times in the top of first inning and never looked back in a 7-3 win over a Shawano team that took state qualifier Lakeland to 13 innings in WIAA Division 2 tournament play back in May.

Hraby struck out 11, walked one and allowed three hits in six scoreless innings. Shawano got three unearned runs with Haenel pitching in the bottom of the seventh.

Arndt, Zayleah Leonhardt and Laney Hraby had two hits apiece. Medford had eight hits against Shawano pitchers Kadence Meyers and Lily Bubolz, who threw two and five innings, respectively.

Brahmer and Arndt set the table in the first with a single and a walk. An error on a ball hit by Rylee Hraby scored Brahmer and Leonhardt’s single scored Arndt. Laney Hraby added an RBI groundout and an error on a ball hit by Ava Hartl made it 4-0.

Rylee Hraby hit a sacrifice fly in the fifth to score Arndt. Leonhardt hit a sacrifice fly and Laney Hraby blooped an infield hit to score the clinching runs in the seventh.

Medford 10, DCE 0

Medford opened the tournament Friday afternoon with an easy 10-0 win over a young D.C. Everest team. Rylee Hraby struck out 10 while allowing one hit in four innings. Haenel struck out one in the fifth.

A seven-run bottom of the third inning made it 8-0 and put the game out of reach. Brahmer started it with an infield single and scored on Arndt’s triple. Rylee Hraby was hit by a pitch. Arndt scored on Leonhardt’s groundout. Laney Hraby and Hartl singled in runs. Haenel also singled. Steinman singled in two runs and Brahmer singled in another. Steinman singled in one during a two-run fifth that ended the game.

Brahmer was four for four. Steinman had two hits and three RBIs.