Leonhardt’s slam starts 3-0 opening weekend for Raiders

MEDFORD AT DANNY MAC

The Medford Raiders won a thrilling opener Friday afternoon and carried that momentum to two more wins Saturday and a bracket championship at the Danny Mac Softball Classic, hosted by Rhinelander in the Hodag Dome.

Zayleah Leonhardt’s walk-off grand slam provided the dramatic finish to Medford’s 9-5 win over Wausau West in game one and the Raiders capped a 3-0 weekend by holding off Hayward 4-3 and Stratford 8-4 on Saturday.

The early-season indoor tournament was just what Medford needed as the Raiders have not been able to get any outside work in, other than some fly balls in the parking lot, and have a lot of new but talented players that head coach Virgil Berndt and assistant Ron Fisk wanted to see in game action.

“It was a very, very good weekend for us,” Berndt said. “We saw a lot of things and a lot of people played. It wasn’t like they played in blowouts too. They played in some tight games.”

The West game on Friday got tight after the Raiders were unable to score for five innings after grabbing a 5-2 firstinning lead. Taylor Liebelt’s two-run homer in the top of the first inning put West on top, but Medford got a run-scoring single from Madisyn Pilgrim, an RBI groundout from Ava Hartl and a two-run double by Eryka Seidl in their five-run rally in the bottom half.

The Warriors got two runs in the third and it stayed 5-4 until West was down to its final out in the top of the seventh. Liebelt walked and stole second and scored when Caitlin Kranz sharply grounded an 0-2 pitch from Martha Miller to the gap in right-center for a gametying double. Miller got Sadie Peissig to line out to Leonhardt at first base to keep the game tied.

Then the Raiders went to work in the bottom half.

Jada Surek sparked the rally with a pinch-hit leadoff single. Pinch runner Rylee Hraby moved to second on Hartl’s groundout to third and Hope Faude walked. Rachel Harder relieved pitcher Ella Wendling and hit Seidl with a pitch, setting the stage for Leonhardt, a freshman who was already two for three in the game. Leonhardt crushed the first pitch she saw well over the leftfield fence for her first varsity home run, a grand slam she’ll likely never forget.

That put Leonhardt, who hit out of the eighth spot in the order, at three for four for the game with a double, a homer and four runs batted in. Seidl was three for three with her double and two RBIs. Medford had 12 hits against the two West pitchers who rotated with each getting two different stints in the circle.

Miller allowed seven hits, three earned runs and two walks but struck out 14, including a handful in key spots that kept runners stranded.

“Martha was solid, even though in the first game she said herself that she wasn’t real comfortable,” Berndt said. “But she still was right there.”

In the semifinal round Saturday morning, Medford edged a solid Hayward squad that made things interesting late after the Raiders jumped ahead 4-0.

Miller and Hayward ace Riley Sprenger took shutouts into the fourth inning, where the Raiders finally broke through in the top half. Allie Paulson led off with a single and Leonhardt added a one-out single. Paulson scored on a wild pitch and an error on a ball hit by Hartl scored Leonhardt to make it 2-0. The Raiders doubled their lead in the top of the sixth. Paulson again started it with a bloop single and was bunted to second by Finley Arndt and moved to third on Leonhardt’s single. Leonhardt stole second and both runner scored on Hartl’s clutch two-out ground-rule double to right.

Hayward got an unearned run in the bottom of the sixth and two more in the seventh. Greta Woelber doubled in one run and an error on a ball hit by Madi Bergschneider drove in the second run and put Bergschneider at second base as the tying run. But Miller got her 15th and final strikeout, setting down Avery Chucka to end it.

Miller allowed two hits and one walk. Medford had seven hits off Sprenger, who struck out 13 and walked none. Leonhardt was three for three and Paulson was two for three.

Hraby got the start in the championship game against Stratford and gave the Raiders seven solid innings, striking out five, walking three and allowing three walks, six hits and three earned runs. The Raiders gave her plenty of offensive support by jumping out to a 7-0 lead through two innings.

Miller hit a leadoff homer in the bottom of the first and the Raiders tacked on another unearned run. In the second, the Raiders hit only two balls out of the infield, yet put five runs on the board. Arndt reached on a one-out error, Miller bunted for a hit and Paulson singled to center to load the bases for Pilgrim, who singled deep into the hole at short. Miller scored on Leonhardt’s fielder’s choice to make it 4-0. After Hartl’s single on a high bouncer behind second re-loaded the bases, Seidl legged out an infield hit for an RBI and Huegli rolled a two-run single up the middle.

Paulson’s triple in the third scored Miller, who had singled, to make it 8-2 after the Tigers had gotten on the board in the top half. Stratford got single runs in the fifth and sixth innings but never seriously threatened Medford’s lead.

The Raiders had 11 hits off Stratford pitcher Laney Pankratz. Miller and Paulson each went three for four at the top of the batting order. Seidl was two for three.

“Everybody kind of played together,” Berndt said of the weekend. “Nobody got down when we made a mistake. They hung in there.”

Medford is scheduled to play at Woodside Sports Complex’s High School Softball Challenge in Mauston this weekend. The Raiders are slated to play Reedsburg at 9 a.m. and Stewartville, Minn. at 11 a.m. on Friday. They get Mondovi at 5 p.m. Saturday to close out the weekend.