By Mike Ramczyk
Sports Editor
Registering more errors than hits is never a recipe for success.
Unfortunately for the Burlington softball team, that was its situation Tuesday night at Wilmot.
The Demons’ seven-game win streak came to a screeching halt thanks to a treacherous first inning that saw Burlington commit four errors.
The Lady Demons fell in a 6-0 hole, and Wilmot went on to cruise to a 9-3 victory.
“It was pretty much over at that point,” Burlington coach Gary Caliva said Tuesday night. “We didn’t play well. We have never let the wheels fall off in an inning like this.”
The Panthers’ first batter reached on an error, and three Wilmot hits in the inning led to four runs.
Demon batters struck out seven times and only mustered four hits for the game. Burlington committed six errors.
Burlington pitcher Danielle Koenen battled as best she could, but Caliva said the team didn’t help Koenen at all.
Koenen gave up 12 hits, but only three runs were earned.
Burlington dropped to 10-7 overall and 7-4 in the Southern Lakes Conference. The Demons dropped to third place because Union Grove jumped into second with a 2-0 win over Delavan-Darien.
Burlington shortstop Tay Lewis socked a home run.
On Friday, Burlington travels to Union Grove in a battle for second place. Then, on Tuesday, the Demons have a rematch against Division 1 defending champion Westosha Central.
What will it take to get back on track?
“We have to be good in all three phases,” Caliva said. “If we do, we can beat anybody. We expect to win these games.”
Burlington 3, Elkhorn 2 (11 innings)
Burlington and visiting Elkhorn played to a 2-2 tie after seven innings last Thursday evening, so the girls decided to turn the game into a marathon.
The three-hour, 11-inning instant classic finally ended when Demons third baseman Chy Onstad came to the plate with the bases jacked in the bottom half of the 11th.
Onstad calmly smacked a pitch up the middle to score Courtenay Krusemark, and the home fans went home happy with a victory on Parents Night.
It was Burlington’s seventh straight victory, and now the Demons have climbed into second place in the Southern Lakes Conference.
Burlington coach Gary Caliva said his squad is very confident right now.
“The team is starting to believe in itself, and they are beginning to expect to win every game they play,” he said. “Tonight we had good pitching, and our defense made the plays when they needed to. As a team we expect to win every time we play.”
Caliva admitted the girls were tired after the game. The Demons played three games last week. But in the 11th, Krusemark reached on an error, then Adriana Burd singled after a walk before Onstad’s game-winner.
“Our record hasn’t been great in past years, and we were 4-10 in the SLC last year. We expect to win every time we play.”
Defense fueled the Demons in the extra innings. In the ninth, first baseman Lauren Hockman and shortstop Tay Lewis turned a nifty double play. Then, in the 10th, an Elkhorn single seemed certain to produce the go-ahead run from second. But Hockman caught the relay throw from right field, turned and fired a strike to catcher Burd, who tagged out the Elkhorn runner.
The Demons had a chance to win with a suicide squeeze in the eighth, but the runner was called out at home. Caliva thought the Demon runner was safe.
Finally, in the top of the 11th, Burlington pitcher Dani Koenen got into a jam with a runner on second base with no outs. But she worked around another walk and kept the Elks off the scoreboard.
Onstad’s game-winning bullet was her fourth hit of the day. Kira Allen, Randee Jackson, Courtney Wieners, Burd and Hockman also added hits.
Koenen scattered six hits and struck out nine while only allowing two walks in the gritty complete game effort.
Burlington 4, Lake Geneva Badger 1
Last Wednesday meant more of the same for the Demons – timely hitting, solid defense and stellar pitching.
Burlington jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first and added single tallies in the fourth and sixth innings for insurance.
Allen, Jackson, Burd and Hockman each knocked two hits. Jackson had two RBIs.
Koenen gave up four hits and struck out five with one earned run.
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