WEST SALEM — Megan Johnson tossed the ball toward the circle, popped her catcher’s mask off and smiled after catching a called third strike for the final out of the sixth inning.
The West Salem High School senior waited for pitcher Josie Brudos to approach the dugout before following that smile with a, “Nice pitch, Jo.”
Brudos threw a lot of good pitches on Monday as the Panthers tried to give themselves no less than a share of the Coulee Conference softball championship against visiting G-E-T.
The junior struck out 17 Red Hawks and the final five in a row as West Salem picked up a 4-0 victory that gives them a one-game lead over second-place Arcadia (14-7, 9-2). The Raiders finish at Viroqua on Tuesday, and the Panthers close out the conference season at G-E-T (13-4, 8-2) on Thursday.
The final out of the sixth — a strikeout of Caroline Mack — showed the confidence of both Brudos and Johnson, who was calling the pitches.
Brudos missed the strike zone on each of her first three pitches before bringing the final three with heat and right over the plate. Mack missed the fourth and fifth before the last pitched was called a strike to end the at-bat.
“I was able to stay composed,” Brudos said. “I was just trying to find a strike. If she hit it, I knew my defense was there behind me.”
West Salem’s defense didn’t have to do much in the team’s seventh straight win. Brudos allowed two hits and walked one batter but eliminated G-E-T from the title picture with an overpowering performance.
Second baseman MacLaine Heilman doubled and drove in two runs, and Johnson went 3 for 3 with a double. Third baseman Dylynn Bayer was also 2 for 3 with an RBI for the Panthers.
Onalaska 8, Prairie du Chien 0
PRAIRIE DU CHIEN — The Hilltoppers (13-5) scored in all but two innings on the way to shutting out the Blackhawks.
Onalaska recorded 16 hits, and freshman pitcher Sydney Kraus struck out six, walked none and allowed five hits — all singles.
Third baseman Zoe Koonce O’Kane tripled and hit a home run while going 3 for 4 with three runs scored. Left fielder Cayenne Zinnecker and first baseman Zoey Lichty also had three hits each for the Hilltoppers, and center fielder Jenna Gansen tripled during a 2-for-3 performance.
Right fielder MJ Heit went 2 for 5 with a double and two RBIs for Onalaska, which owns second place in the MVC.
Caledonia 9, Winona 1
CALEDONIA — The Warriors (14-3) scored five runs in the fourth and three in the fifth to pull away from the Winhawks.
Freshman Avery Augedahl struck out nine, walked one and allowed three hits to collect the pitching victory and was backed up by 14 Caledonia hits.
Augedahl was 2 for 3 with a double and two RBIs. Third baseman Paizley Lange and first baseman Elsa Blum were both 3 for 4 with two RBIs, and Blum tripled.
Left fielder Lily Augedahl doubled, and Ashlyn Reinhart stole two bases for the Warriors, who won for the second time in three games.
Arcadia 13, Independence/Gilmanton 3 (5)
ARCADIA — The Raiders (14-7) scored five runs in the first inning and took advantage of four errors made by the Indees.
Shortstop Tatum Drazkowski and second baseman Tessah Ely both drove in two runs for Arcadia, which needs to beat Viroqua on Tuesday for a chance at half of the conference championship.
Center fielder Kiley Fitzpatrick was 2 for 2 with two doubles and left fielder Sacia Boland 2 for 4 for Arcadia, which had nine stolen bases. Ely and Amaya Schlesser each had two of those.
Augusta 5, Melrose-Mindoro 2
MELROSE — The Mustangs (15-3, 10-2) scored the first two runs before allowing the last five.
Bella Rozek hit a sacrifice fly in the first inning and another in the third for Melrose-Mindoro’s 2-0 lead.
