Warriors Fall One Game Short of State Tournament

KENOSHA -- The Muskego softball team's dream season came to an end on a dreary, overcast Saturday.

Looking to secure only the second WIAA State Tournament berth in school history, the Warriors fell painfully short with a 7-1 loss to state-ranked Kenosha Bradford in a Division 1 sectional final.

The loss snapped a 12-game winning streak for Muskego, which started the season by losing eight of its first 15 games.

"We had a very good season," 23rd-year coach John Rosenberg said. "We started off a little slow, but we won 12 in a row to finish season and played very, very well."

It was the third time that Muskego (19-9) lost to Bradford (25-2) this season. In Southeast Conference  play, the Warriors suffered defeats of 6-0 and 1-0.

"We gave them four runs in this game," Rosenberg said. "I'd like to play them on a day when we don't make mistakes and the weather is a little better."

Bradford scored a run off Muskego pitcher Ashley Gnacinski in the first inning on a two-out double by Ari Roberts that was fair by inches down the left-field line.

The Red Devils scored three more two-out runs in the third as Muskego committed one of its two errors to make it 4-0.

Muskego's first base runner against Bradford pitcher Ali Brems came with one out in the fourth when Kelly Adams walked on a 3-2 pitch.

The Warriors recorded their first hit when Megan Henneberry led off the fifth with a single to center and stole second base. After Brianna Witter reached on an infield single, Henneberry was thrown out while attempting to advance to third.

Kelsey Noah kept the rally going when she reached on an error and Julia Keegan followed with an RBI single up the middle to make it 4-1 .

Muskego appeared to cut the deficit in half on Michele Soderman's sacrifice fly to left, but Noah was called for leaving third base early to end the inning.

The Warriors went 1-2-3 in the final two innings as Bradford added to its total with two runs in fifth and one in the sixth.

Gnacinski capped her standout high school career with two walks and three strikeouts in six innings. The steady left-hander is one of only three seniors on the Muskego roster along with Henneberry and Soderman.

"Ashley has been a four-year starter for us," Rosenberg said. "She's won 67 games in four years. That's not too bad."