Iola-Scandinavia stuns Waterloo with seven-run rally to win first WIAA state softball championship

MADISON – Tom Anderson has seen a lot in his years and years of coaching high school softball.

He’s never seen anything like what transpired Saturday at Goodman Diamond.

Iola-Scandinavia scored seven runs in the top of the seventh inning — including an inside-the-park grand slam — to rally for a stunning 10-6 victory over Waterloo in the WIAA Division 4 state championship game.

It is the first state softball title for the fourth-seeded Thunderbirds (23-9), an improbable outcome for a nine-loss team that upset No. 1 seed Grantsburg in the semifinals and then was down to its final three outs before roaring back in the title game.

“I tell you, this is the way this team’s been all year,” Anderson said. “We’ve come back in so many games this year. We’ve had a lot of close games. Our schedule, I try to build a tough schedule, so we’ve had close games, tough games like this all year. It’s crazy. It’s kind of hard to put into words right now.”

Maddie Much was 5-for-5, scored two runs and drove in two runs for Iola-Scandinavia. She was also the winning pitcher, scattering 11 hits and giving up five earned runs in a complete game. She struck out one and did not walk a batter.

“I did not have that in my dreams last night, but here we are,” Much said of the amazing comeback. “It feels great. I cannot believe we did it. I’m just happy we made it this far.”

The Thunderbirds led 3-0 after two innings but Waterloo, which was also seeking its first state title, scored three runs in the third inning and tacked on three in the fifth to go ahead 6-3.

Iola-Scandinavia appeared poised to cut into the deficit in the sixth inning, loading the bases with one out. Brooklyn Berrens, a freshman who would play a much bigger role later in the game, lined a pitch up the middle that Waterloo pitcher Grace Marty snagged with a sensational catch, securing the ball between her legs before it hit the ground.

Thunderbirds runners were late to react to Marty catching the ball and were on the move. Marty threw home but there wasn’t a force out there. Waterloo catcher Brenna Huebner then threw to first, but Much got back to the base in time. Pirates first baseman Katrina Freund then quickly fired the ball across the diamond to retire Myah Heschke, who was racing back to third base, to complete a rare 1-2-3-5 double play.

It was the kind of inning-ending play that could have ended the Thunderbirds’ state title dreams.

“I can tell you that really bummed us, but we came back stronger than ever,” said Much, who then retired Waterloo quickly in the bottom of the sixth.

In the seventh, Clara Koles singled to left field and Marin Hoyord singled to right to start the Iola-Scandinavia rally. Chloe Timdal then walked to load the bases with no outs.

After a pop out, Heschke bounced to third but Waterloo third baseman Emma Baumann threw wide of home for an error, with two runs scoring to make it 6-5.

Ava Printz then beat out a hit to the pitcher, with Timdal holding at third to load the bases. Jaelyn Sivertson followed and lofted a fly ball to center for the second out, with Timdal racing home with the tying run.

Much followed with an infield single to load the bases again, with Berrens coming up. The right-handed hitter sliced a fly ball toward right field and the ball dropped just inside the foul line. Waterloo right fielder Gabbie Kuhl made a sprawling attempt to catch the ball and when it got past her, all three runners on base scored and Berrens was right behind them for the inside-the-park grand slam.

“I just knew I needed to put the ball in play and at least get one or two runs in,” Berrens said. “I had to do something with the ball.”

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And what was she thinking as she raced around the bases?

“I need to get home. That’s all that was going through my mind. I had to hustle and get to home,” Berrens said.

Anderson said the speedy freshman has earned the right to run, so he wasn’t about to stop her.

“She just is kind of on her own. She has kind of that green light. I trust what Brooklyn does,” Anderson said. “She’s been caught a couple times this year but Brooklyn, even though she’s a freshman, she’s a very experienced ballplayer. She just does a great job and she just loves the game.”

Suddenly with a four-run lead after trailing by three, the Thunderbirds still had unfinished business in the field.

Much allowed a one-out double but got the second out on a grounder back to the mound. Kailee Rahn then grounded to Sivertson at shortstop, and her throw to Koles at first base set off a wild celebration.

“I was a little nervous, I can say that,” Much said. “But my team’s always backing me up. They know what to do. And here we are, holding the state champ (trophy).”

Koles and Printz each had three hits for Iola-Scandinavia, which finished with 17 hits. Hoyord and Berrens each had two hits, none bigger than Berrens’ slam.

“I was just ecstatic. It was so exciting,” Berrens said. “I was so happy for my team and my coaches. It’s just a great feeling.”

Anderson said he was just hoping the Thunderbirds could scratch out three runs in the seventh to force extra innings.

“That’s all and then we’ll go on from there,” he said. “But when we get to that top of the order, those girls with Jaelyn Sivertson at the top of the order and then we have Maddie who can hit the ball and, of course, Brooklyn. Work for the tie and then we’ll go from there, but if they want to keep tacking on runs and adding runs we’ll take them.”

The Thunderbirds will also take the state championship trophy home, something Anderson had a hard time believing.

“It’s incredible. I would have never (expected it),” he said. “I don’t really set that as a goal. It’s always in the back of my mind, but I go with what we’ve got and that’s incredible. It’s been something after 30-some years of coaching. I’m excited, but I’m excited for the community and the players.

“We’ve had some pretty good teams, teams that I believed could have gone to state back when they were playing. But we didn’t get certain breaks and certain things go our way and they didn’t make it. This one is for all of those girls.”

This article originally appeared on Stevens Point Journal: Iola-Scandinavia Thunderbirds win Division 4 state softball title