By MIKE KEMMETER
of The Gazette
After beating Bonduel in two close Central Wisconsin Conference games, the Amherst High School softball team decided to something different its WIAA Regional contest against the Bears.
Instead of a tight game, the Falcons flew out of the gate, scoring five runs in the first inning to rout Bonduel 9-0 Tuesday at home. It was the third straight time in the playoffs that Amherst grabbed an early lead and the third consecutive shutout for pitcher Jenny Jastromski and the Falcon defense.
With the win, Amherst advanced to the WIAA Regional final, leaving the defending-state-champion Falcons three victories away from returning to the state tournament.
The Falcons' fast start took away Bonduel's game plan against Jastromski, using bunts to get runners on base and then advance them.
"It's tough to shut them down," Amherst coach Tim Pederson said. "Last year, they scored the most runs against us in the playoffs.
"The big lead takes the bunting away that they like to do on Jenny."
The Falcons used timely hitting, a double steal, a walk and a big Bonduel error in the five-run first.
Betsy Hoffman got things started with one away, singling to center. Anne Stanislawski reached on a walk and Jastromski followed with a groundball to second baseman Rachel Watters. Watters couldn't handle the ball and Hoffman scored, with Stanislawski moving to third. Freshman Lyndsey Allen pinch-ran for Jastromski and stole second. Bonduel catcher Ashley DeBauch threw to second base and Stanislawski stole home to give the Falcons a 2-0 advantage.
Crystal Morgan drew a walk and freshman JoAnn Konkol singled to leftfield, plating Allen. Becky Konkol and Julie Peskie then walked to force in a run and then Konkol scored on a passed ball to put Amherst ahead 5-0.
"Since the playoffs started, the first inning was our big inning," shortstop Anne Stanislawski said.
Amherst tacked on another run in the third when Konkol scored on Jenni Orsund's groundball-single to centerfield. The Falcons made it 7-0 in the sixth on Jastromski's sacrifice groundout, which scored Stanislawski.
The Falcons, who were the visiting team on the scoreboard but played on its own field, put the game away with two more runs in the top of the seventh. Konkol scored on Renee Ostrowski's groundball to short and Allen added an RBI single two batters later.
The Bears, who collected just two hits against Jastromski while striking out four times, only had one serious threat to get on the scoreboard. In the second inning, Bonduel had runners at second and third with one out but Jastromski struck out Watters and forced Shelly Buettner to pop up to Morgan, the first baseman.
"Jenny's tough. When she gets in trouble, she just picks it up a little more," Pederson said.
Stanislawski's defense definitely helped the cause. She had two double plays, one in the third and another in the fourth, where she fielded groundballs a few steps from second base and then fired to Morgan at first.
"I've been waiting for those plays all year. We've worked on it in practice and I was close a couple of times in games," Stanislawski said.
"With Jenny, Anne can cheat up the middle because it's hard to pull on her," Pederson added. "You don't see those too often. That's big."