A huge second inning was just what the Northmor softball team needed in their 15-1 home sectional win over Fisher Catholic in their Division IV playoff opener.
Trailing 1-0 after the Irish turned a walk and double into a run in the top of the second, Northmor wasted no time in tying the game. With one out, Mahaila Stroebel and Kate Kissling hit back-to-back singles and Emily Zeger was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
A Bristyn Yeater grounder led to a run-scoring error to tie the game and then the floodgates opened. Lexi Wenger drove in one run with a single and Maddie Simpson drove in two with another single. Another single, this time by Raelynn Fulk, made it a 5-1 game and led to a Fisher pitching change.
The team’s luck wouldn’t get any better, though. A fly ball by Taylor Cantrell was dropped to bring in a run and a grounder by Stroebel made it 7-1. Kissling then drove in a run and Zeger followed with an inside-the-park home run to bring three more across the plate.
When the Irish got out of the inning, Northmor had turned a 1-0 deficit into an 11-1 advantage.
“Hitting is absolutely contagious,” said Northmor coach Matt Wiseman. “When one of those girls gets us going and we get a hit with runners in scoring position, it can add up. We only had one strikeout. That’s huge because when you put the ball in play, good things happen.”
Northmor would score four more in the third inning, as McKenna Van Dyke and Cantrell had RBI singles and Zeger drove in two more with a double.
That offensive outburst was more than enough for Kissling, who only gave up the one run in five innings of work to earn the playoff win. Making the freshman pitcher’s job easier was a strong defensive showing behind her.
“The girls did a nice job, once we got the lead, of making plays,” said Wiseman. “We had one error tonight, which is probably our best performance as far as errors all year. Defensively, we’re playing the best ball we’ve played all year. That’s a good thing.”
Wiseman was happy that his team, which improved to 11-12 with the win, was able to advance in the postseason. While the team has a number of returnees from last year’s squad, they did graduate some key players — including both of their pitchers — and have a lot of freshmen and sophomores in key roles.
“With last year’s group, those three seniors were 70 percent of our offense, too, but these girls have worked hard,” he said. “They come to practice every day and give it their best effort.”
And the coach is happy that his team was able to advance through sectionals to districts for the second straight year, noting that turning postseason success into a tradition is something he wants to see happen.
“I don’t know how long we’ve had softball, but we’ve had three sectional championships,” he said. “We won it in 2014, 2021 and 2022. Big things in the future is what I expect. Tradition goes a long ways.”
