Redbirds sweep Tritons in doubleheader

GREEN BAY – The De Pere Redbirds (17-8) against the Notre Dame Tritons (11-14) in an intense conference softball doubleheader. The Redbirds came into game one off a big win over Manitowoc Lincoln, ready to continue the wins after a rough patch in the games prior.

The Tritons, in the same boat, scoring 11 against Lincoln two days after De Pere, are also looking to keep their streak going and find their place in the conference standings. With both teams prepared for battle and any inclement weather seeming to hold as if watching the game as well, game one was off.

“We wanted to come in today and finish the conference strong,” said Redbirds head coach Travis Piper. “It all starts with preparation, this is a grind, we got to come ready to play.”

De Pere wasted no time showing their intent. Cadence Brennan drew an important walk, setting the stage for the offense. Notre Dame Academy starting pitcher Ella Nowak took the mound for the Tritons, but soon enough, Julianne Bradford stepped up and scored, giving the Redbirds an early 1‑0 lead. After a fielder's choice puts Julia Renier on base, she advances on 3 consecutive walks before eventually coming home, pushing the score to 2‑0.

After both defences put zeros on the box score in the second inning, the Redbird offense continued its assault in the third inning. Ava Krepline’s well-hit double to center field, brought both Violet Stadler and Renier across home plate. With that hit, the Redbirds extended their cushion to 4‑0. 

After starting pitcher Reese Falish goes three innings scorless with five strikeouts, De Pere turned on the heat even more with the bats back in their hands. Bradford ignited the inning with a powerful triple on a deep fly ball to the center field wall. That hit proved costly for the Tritons as both Addison Krutz and Jaelyn Craig scored immediately, making it 6‑0. The barrage didn’t stop there. Later in the inning, Stadler’s single brought Bradford back home for another run, nudging the tally to 7‑0. The momentum carried over as Krepline’s single, choppered cleanly up the middle, drove in Marren Vanremortel to make it 8‑0. Then, a well-executed single by A. Krutz further added pressure—with A. Krepline scoring and V. Stadler crossing the plate—before a fielder’s choice allowed Siena Arendt to round the bases for an 11‑0 lead by the top of the fourth. 

“Getting our energy up in the dugout, getting hyped for each other, getting excited for scoring those runs, helped carry the momentum over,” said Bradford, commenting on the big fourth inning.

Notre Dame began to chip away at the deficit in the bottom of the fourth when Emma Ciak hit a triple. Tracking the ball to center, the hit allowed E. Jahner to score for the Tritons, briefly narrowing the gap to 11‑1. The pressure was mounting, and every play counted.

The fifth inning brought mixed fortunes. In the top half, Bradford opened with a double down the line to center field, though her aggressive baserunning—trying to steal third—resulted in her being caught off the bag by catcher Stella Starry after a couple of fouls and a well-timed throw to shortstop Addyson Simpson.

Vanremortel’s subsequent fly-out closed the top half without adding to the tally. Down the bottom, a dropped third strike allowed Aubrey Wyckoff to reach base, and a series of singles and groundouts eventually moved courtesy runner Brynn Broekman into scoring position. A well-worked ground out then brought Broekman home, giving the Tritons two runs in the frame.

The sixth inning saw a swing towards the Tritons, after Nowak takes a ball to the hand, she manages to shake it off and retire three in the four she faced, walking one. The Notre Dame offense, looking for a late-game rally, needed a big inning. The Tritons fans thought their prayers had been answered after some expert baserunning and a sacrifice fly from Madison Siminski brought Ciak home. But their run would be cut at just one run, keeping the Redbirds in the driver seat, commanding an 11-3 lead going into the seventh frame.

Command they did, tacking on two more off a Craig triple and Bradford single. And with some closing out pitching from reliever Addison Krutz, the Tritons would fall in game one 13-3.

“If I know anything with this game and these girls (runs) come in bunches,” said Piper. “We are due to break out, I’m happy where we are with hitting starting today.”

“We are going to carry on our momentum into the start of the second game and keep the approach at the plate, put the ball in play to make good things happen,” said Bradford at the end of the first game. “Hopefully to have another win this afternoon.” 

The Tritons started the second game with a tough inning, Falish retiring the side to begin her start. In the bottom of the first, the De Pere Redbirds answered immediately. Krutz drew a walk, and a well-hit single by Craig sent her into scoring position. A bunt single by Bradford advanced the runners, and a wild pitch allowed Krutz to score. Soon after, a ground ball single by Bella Robinett scored Craig, and a sacrifice fly by Brennan pushed Bradford home, giving the Redbirds a 3-0 lead.

In the top of the second, the Tritons continued to struggle as S. Starry and other batters found little success, while in the top of the third, O. Waldrop’s triple and a follow‐up single briefly produced one run, making the score 1–3. Back in the bottom of the third, J. Bradford’s double and B. Robinett’s follow-up doubled the Redbirds’ advantage to 4-1.

The Redbirds kept extending their lead in the bottom of the fourth when Falish tripled, and the subsequent plate appearances helped add another run, bringing the score to 5-1. In the bottom of the fifth, a sequence of walks and a wild pitch allowed Renier to score, increasing De Pere’s total to 6-1. The Tritons managed to score again in the top of the sixth on a Maddie Hilts single that scored Simpson from second, trimming the deficit to 6-2. However, their rally fizzled out in the top of the seventh, and the Redbirds held on for a 6-2 win. Winning both games, De Pere moves on to play their final two regular season games at home against Menasha and Denmark Thursday, May 22 and Friday, May 23.