CAMPBELLSPORT — If the seeds hold up, May 22 should provide a fascinating rubber match between Waupun and Campbellsport's softball teams.
For the second Monday in a row, not much separated the Eastern Wisconsin elite. Campbellsport pounced early and hung on for dear life with a 4-3 win to join the Warriors atop the league.
The Cougars (14-1, 12-1 EWC), who avenged their only loss of the season, must beat middle-of-the-pack Plymouth for a share of the crown. Waupun (14-3, 11-1) has two games left but they're both against winless Kiel.
Both teams are in the same Division 2 regional bracket, with the Warriors getting the top seed and the Cougars slotted second.
"This was closer than heck," Campbellsport coach Rick Simpson said. "They don't quit."
Waupun got the tying run into scoring position in each of the final three innings but couldn't find the equalizer. The Warriors started Ariel Griffis, who was chased with a five-run second inning a week earlier, over Demi Kastein, who pitched seven shutout innings in relief.
"It's hard not to go with a gal who threw two shutouts last week," Hagstrom said. "Over the year, Ariel's only been scored on in six of her 77 innings pitched.
"That's pretty good odds to me."
It took one inning for that decision to blow up in Hagstrom's face. Cougar pitcher Haley Serwe unloaded the bases with a double - Campbellsport's third hit of the inning — and Griffis was finished.
Kastein came on in relief again and worked six innings without an earned run. She has not given up an earned run in 13 innings of work against the Cougars.
Waupun cut the gap to one in the top of the third. Nicole Sturtz singled, moved to second on a wild pitch and stole third before the Cougars opted to eat a safety squeeze bunt by Holly Smits.
Jenny Rasmussen got one run in with a groundout to short. Kastein singled to center for another run but the threat was ended with a pair of flyouts.
Waupun loaded the bases an inning earlier and thought they had a run. Cassie Vande Berg grounded to third and Kate Salter bobbled it but was ruled to have beaten Trisha Core to the bag.
"I thought she was safe," said Hagstrom, who was coaching third and closer to the bag than the umpire at that time. "Her foot was outside the bag and she got in before the ball."
Campbellsport got a vital run in the fourth with the aid of a pair of Warrior errors. Makayla Hopp lost the handle on a grounder to short and Sturtz threw in the dirt while trying to turn a double-play ball.
"We had a chance to get them out," Hagstrom said. "You can't give a team like that extra outs."
Sturtz reached on another infield single in the fifth and was sacrificed to second by Smits. Rasmussen singled her in her courtesy runner, Jenny Larsen, reached second on Brittany Flegner's single but pinch-hitter Michielah Navis struck out to end the inning.
Core and Sturtz got into to scoring position in the sixth but Smits fouled out to the catcher. Rasmussen singled and Larsen was sacrificed to second and reached third on a grounder.
That brought up Loomans, who was pinch-hit for earlier. The game ended when she popped up a bunt to the pitcher.
"We had the opportunities," Hagstrom said. "We couldn't come up with the big hit."
Waupun hosts Kiel today.
CAMPBELLSPORT 4, WAUPUN 3
Waupun 002 010 0 - 3 8 3
Campbellsport 300 100 x - 4 7 2
Pitchers (ip-h-er-bb-so) - Griffis (L; 1-3-3-1-1), Kastein (5-4-0-2-4), Serwe (W; 7-8-3-1-5).
Leading hitters: W - Sturtz 3x4; C - Crofts 2x4, Serwe 3x3. 2B: C - Crofts, Salter, Serwe. RBI: W - Rasmussen (2); C - Serwe (3).