Westfield Area had lost three straight at home, but on Thursday they dropped down to 10-11 to make it four. They fell 4-1 to the Ripon Tigers. Unfortunately, that's the second time they've come up short against the Tigers this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 10-4 back in April.
Natalee Meinke
| 05/14/26 vs Ripon | 2 |
| 05/12/26 @ Wautoma | 1 |
| 05/08/26 vs Poynette | 1 |
| 05/07/26 vs Wisconsin Dells | 2 |
| 05/04/26 @ Wisconsin Dells | 2 |
| + 5 more games |
Natalee Meinke spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered four earned runs on seven hits. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in ten consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Westfield Area saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Halle Drew, who went 1-for-3 with one triple.
As for Ripon, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 17-3. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.5 runs over those games.
On Ripon's side, Quinn Goldapske made a big impact no matter where she played. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out 14 over seven innings pitched. Those 14 strikeouts gave Goldapske a new career-high. She was also big at the plate, going 1-for-2 with one run and one RBI.
In other batting news, Lily Kwakkel was excellent, going 1-for-3 with one triple, two RBI, and one run. Another player making a difference was Jocelyn Baker, who went 3-for-4 with one run.
Coming up, Westfield Area will head out on the road to challenge Iola-Scandinavia at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. The Pioneers will need to watch out since the Thunderbirds have now posted at least ten runs in their last three games. As for Ripon, they will challenge New Holstein at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (the Tigers 2.6, the Huskies 3.4) so any runs scored will be well earned.
