Morgan Gorges hit a two-run home run and Leah Porath followed with a solo shot as the New London softball team went deep on consecutive pitches June 5 in a 7-2 Division 2 sectional semifinal win over Wrightstown.
The win means the Bulldogs are heading back to state to defend their Division 2 championship. New London will face New Berlin Eisenhower at 6 tonight (Thursday, June 12) in a state semifinal at Goodman Diamond in Madison. The winner will advance to the championship game, set for 3 p.m. Saturday, June 14, in Madison.
New London advanced to the sectional final with an 8-1 semifinal win over Adams Friendship June 3 in Waupaca.
New London 7, Wrightstown 2
FREEDOM – The homers from Gorges and Porath gave the Bulldogs a 5-1 lead in the fifth inning.
Wrightstown struck first with a solo home run to left field in the bottom of the second inning. Abby Elsholtz tracked the ball to the fence and nearly robbed the hitter of a home run, but the ball sailed just past her glove as she tumbled onto the fence.
New London’s offense didn’t get on track until the top of the fourth, despite making contact with the ball throughout the first three innings.
Molly O’Connell stepped to the plate with two runners on in the fourth and ripped a two-run single to give New London a 2-1 lead.
New London added two runs in the top of the sixth on RBI singles from Alanna Beyer and Payton Mix to take a 7-1 lead. Wrightstown plated its second run in the sixth, but strong pitching from Shelby Sommer and solid defense by the Bulldogs led to a scoreless seventh.
Gorges and Elsholtz had two hits for New London, while O’Connell added two RBIs.
Sommer allowed two runs on seven hits. New London committed two errors, while Wrightstown committed three.
New London pushed its winning streak to nine games with the win. The Bulldogs have also won 14 of their last 15 games.
New London 8, Adams-Friendship 1
WAUPACA – The Green Devils scored a run in the second inning, but New London put four runs on the board in the bottom of the third to take the lead for good.
The Bulldogs cranked out four hits, including a pair of two-run singles, to plate those four runs. Jenna Mytton drove in two runs and Gorges followed with a two-run double.
The Bulldogs scored twice in the fourth and twice in the sixth. Beyer had a triple in the sixth and had four hits on the night. She also scored three runs.
The Bulldogs outhit the Green Devils 11-5.
Sommer allowed one run on five hits with five strikeouts and one walk.
Adams-Friendship had runners in scoring position in the third, fourth and sixth innings, but couldn’t manage to bring them home.