Blackhawks head to state, Lakers lose in sectional finals

• Baldwin-Woodville Blackhawks

Baldwin-Woodville Blackhawks

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Baldwin-Woodville's prep softball team clinched its first bid to the WIAA State Softball Tournament next week with a 3-0, eight-inning win over Rice Lake in the Division 2 sectional finals while Pepin lost in the Division 4 finals to Highland.

Both sectional finals were played Friday. Pepin played down in Boscobel while B-W won on Rice Lake's home field.

The Blackhawks scores all three of their runs on a walk-off homer in the bottom of the eighth by Paige Weiske. B-W remains undefeated at 25-0 and will play Monroe in the state semifinals Thursday at Goodman Diamond in Madison.

Pepin, meanwhile, managed just two hits. Highland junior pitcher Emily Wolfe wasn't overpowering -- she tallied five strikeouts -- but she kept the Lakers (21-3) off balance in the sectional finals.

"We've been a pretty dynamic hitting team all year," Lakers coach Matt Bellerive said. "(But) she was mixing her speeds and hitting her spots pretty good."

Pepin had two chances to break the game open, but it couldn't get a clutch hit either time.

All but one of Pepin's players will be back as Kircher was the team's only senior. However, Pepin only had 10 players in its program this season and next year it will co-op with Alma and the team will be called the Eagles.

The Red Wing Republican-Eagle contributed to this report.

Tags: sports, prep, softball