STATE SOFTBALL: Kenosha Bradford captures first state championship in school history (2024)

MIKE RAMCZYK

The city of Kenosha's oldest school had a big, big night Saturday.

After nearly 50 years of varsity high school softball at Mary D. Bradford, the Red Devils can call themselves state champions.

Starting their WIAA Division 1 state championship game around 8 p.m. and not even finishing up the celebrations and team festivities until early Sunday morning, the Red Devils didn't care how late it was when they defeated Milton, 9-3, to take home the first gold ball in school history.

"We're packing up our stuff and we're headed home," Bradford head coach John Ruffolo joked on the phone around midnight Saturday night. "We're searching Taco Bell. We're still in the hotel lobby, but that's probably what's next."

All jokes aside, Saturday night will be one the Red Devils will never forget. They brought the goods early and often, and a collective effort of hits from seven players and one more virtuoso performance from the 1-2 pitching punch of Aubrey Strelow and Brooklyn Danielson led to three big innings of offense, clutch, game-changing defense and finally a team tackle and pile-up near the mound around 10:42 p.m. to celebrate the monumental win.

Everything came together, and these girls earned it.

"We had probably one of our best offensive nights of the season," Ruffolo said. "Putting down bunts, moving runners, it was 1 through 9. Running bases aggressively, getting big hits, taking the outside pitch the other way, and it was a complete team effort offensively.

"It feels outstanding, just to see the kids enjoying it," Ruffolo said. "We had a huge turnout from Bradford fans, teachers, students, alumni. To see them having so much pride in our school and enjoying it, that was probably the most gratifying thing."

Getting the jump early

Lauren Jeanblanc and Danielson started off the second inning with singles, and then Bradford showed its ability to score in multiple ways. An error led to a run, then an RBI fielder's choice made it a 2-0 game. Finally, a sacrifice bunt from Morgan Smith and Strelow RBI single made it 4-0.

Milton answered with one run in the fourth, but once again the Red Devils put up a crooked inning with three in the bottom of the fourth.

Celia May's two-run single pushed the lead to 6-1 in the fourth, and then the Red Devils extended it to 7-1 thanks to an Angela Parker sacrifice fly.

Parker's RBI single and Jeanblanc's RBI groundout made it 9-3 after five innings, and then the girls went to work on the mound. Strelow fired 5-1/3 innings, striking out eight and scattering six hits.

Danielson followed with 1-2/3 innings of one-hit, scoreless softball.

In 5-1/3 innings of work, Strelow only gave up six hits, walked one and struck out eight.

Strelow, Parker and Smith each collected two hits to lead the Red Devils.

Lauren Jeanblanc, who went 1-for-4 with an RBI, is the team's senior captain, and she says this squad is very close.

"I think it's awesome to win, just having all my best friends on the field with me," she said. "Working together with them and making sure everyone's up at all times. We won because we put it all together. It was a group effort."

For Strelow, a left-handed pitcher, this victory means everything. She effectively changed speeds all night Saturday and got out of a huge bases-loaded jam by striking out the side. With only a slight 4-1 lead the bases loaded, the Red Devils needed Strelow's heroics.

Every time there was even a hint of trouble or worry with multiple Milton base-runners, Strelow dug deep and got out of it.

But Aubrey is tired and needs some rest after hurling 14-1/3 innings in three state tournament games Thursday, Friday and Saturday, striking out 23 batters and walking only four.

"I'm icing my arm, my shoulder, my back, my legs, everything," Strelow joked. "I'm still in shock, I don't understand that we just won, but it feels pretty great.

"Everybody helped and did their job. We've been practicing a lot lately, and I think we all just came together. It was pretty special, and we all had something to do with it."

Strelow added that her pitches had movement Saturday night, especially her changeup, which she says was her bread and butter pitch.

"When I'm out there I see what's working, what gets batters, and seeing if my coach will go with that plan," Strelow said. "It was very stressful when I had to get out of that bases loaded jam. But I got some movement for the curveball, and my changeup's my favorite pitch. I love throwing that. That was really working for me tonight.

"We knew we were going to play a good team, and we had to come in playing our hardest. We were playing the team that beat Kaukauna, so we knew it would be tough. Things are totally different at the state tournament. There were a lot of distractions. It's very loud in there, there's a lot of people seeing you play, and it's a little nerve-wracking. I was like, 'Oh, my gosh.' I've never played in front of that many people, and it was pretty exciting."

According to the WIAA state tournament Twitter page, the Milton-Bradford game set a single-game attendance record at the Goodman Softball Complex with 1,315 fans.

Defense wins championships

Smith, the team's junior captain, had a diving stop at shortstop, which saved two runs and prevented the Red Hawks from coming back right away. The play turned out to really change the momentum of the game.

Smith said she stopped it with the bases loaded, and the bases were still loaded after she stabbed it, but at least two more runs would've scored that inning and made it a completely different game.

So what does it feel like to actually win it all?

"I was thinking like this is the team that earned Bradford's first softball title, and it's amazing," Smith said. "Everyone on the team is so close, and it got us to where we were tonight.

"Defense is probably my biggest asset, and I'm known for it.

The Bradford players' singular focus and mindset also helped bring home the state title. The Red Devils weren't at Goodman Softball Complex late Friday night when history was made, the game where Kaukauna was upset by Milton, 5-3, and the Galloping Ghosts saw their state record 108-game win streak snapped.

There was no talk of easing up since they didn't have to play Kaukauna, a team that beat them 8-0 just a few weeks earlier.

"We weren't there, we were eating ice cream and we were all watching on phones," Jeanblanc said. "We were ready for whatever was going to happen. We had a new challenge in the next game."

That mentality carried over right away Saturday night in the title game. The Red Devils jumped out to a 4-0 lead early and never looked back.

"It's huge, just knowing this is my last high school season, and playing with my best friends, it's just awesome," Jeanblanc said.

A night to remember

Ruffolo was more than ready to get back home to Kenosha late Saturday night and get some rest, with games ending near midnight Saturday and almost 10 p.m. Friday night.

He emphasized sleeping in Sunday morning.

"We got it done one through nine, that's why I say it was one of our best offensive efforts of the season," Ruffolo said. "Top to bottom everyone was contributing."

As for Strelow and Danielson, the thunder is lightning combination is definitely a thing.

While Strelow emphasizes finesse with her favorite pitch, the changeup, keeping kids off balance, and a sneaky curve that can trick power hitters, but Danielson, a righty, whips that ball in there with crazy movement, attacking the strike zone with power pitching.

In games when they both pitch, hitters must adjust on the fly, and most of the time it's too late.

"It's such a gift to have two great arms like that, but two very different approaches," Ruffolo said. "They're very complimentary to each other. Aubrey uses change of speeds to keep them from getting aggressive swings, and Brooklynn's got movement that's ridiculous, she just, pitches fast. One's a lefty, one's a righty, it's a gift.

"We need them both in these last two games to get the job done, and they both stepped up and gave us everything they had."