Poise, patience put Greenfield on top

Greenfield — Experience certainly got the upper hand in this rivalry.

The Greenfield Hustlin' Hawks softball team escaped a late-inning scare to defeat rival Whitnall, 8-6, and improved its Woodland Conference record to 7-0 Friday.

The Hawks jumped out to a 4-0 first-inning lead, but the Falcons kept it close by playing small ball and received some outstanding pitching from sophomore Carolyn Dudek after a tough first. Dudek gave up eight hits.

Hawkish effort, but not quite

"I thought we competed with Greenfield (on Friday)," first-year Whitnall coach Gary Caliva said. "We still have a ways to go with our hitting yet. It was a little bit better than we did against Eisenhower (a no-hitter April 20), but we got a ways to go before we can compete with the Greenfields and the Eisenhowers. But I think we can get there."

The Hawks, who traditionally have been among the Woodland's elite, found themselves searching for answers in the top of the seventh inning when the Falcons scored four runs due to a combination of solid hitting and poor Greenfield defense.

"Whitnall is a traditional rival and we've had some crazy games with them over the years," Greenfield coach Jack Miller said. "And having coached a long time, I've been a part of a lot of them. We've had many games where the team that is behind early has come back and won."

The Butts factor in force

Luckily for Greenfield, it still had its star player on the rubber: Shannon Butts.

Butts never flinched when her team failed to catch some routine fly balls in the seventh and came back to strike out the final batter to wrap up the exciting finish.

"I've ran out of superlatives for her," Miller said of Butts. "She is about as mentally tough as a girl I've ever coached. Her refusal to lose - she does not give in. She just finds a way to get the job done."

Butts finished with seven strikeouts while only surrendering five hits.

Compete near the top

If Whitnall was unsure beforehand whether it had the ability to beat one of the top teams in the area, it definitely should know now after a solid comeback attempt.

"We certainly want to finish above .500," said Caliva, whose team slipped to 5-2 both overall and in conference as of Monday. "And one of our goals will be to beat Greenfield next."

Greenfield improved to 8-2 overall, as of Monday, and along with New Berlin Eisenhower was one of just two Woodland teams without a league loss so far.

The Hawks' great start has been somewhat unexpected considering the lack of returning players that they have been accustomed to.

"We're learning on the fly," Miller said. "We're playing two freshmen and two sophomores, but we do have four or five starters coming back. I think what has been best for our program is the older girls who are always coming back are great leaders of work ethic during practice, how to conduct themselves on and off the field, how to really have mental toughness during the game. Sometimes the girls come in and raise their game because they want to please the juniors and seniors who have set the table for us.

"I truly believe that is a big part of it."

More Greenfield results

APRIL 19: won, 16-6, at Greendale: Coach Jack Miller picked up his 300th victory at Greenfield. … Shannon Butts picked up the win and did a ton of damage at the plate by going 3-for-5 with a home run, a triple, two runs scored and three RBIs. … Amber Polachek added four hits, including a triple, with two driven in.

APRIL 20: won, 19-2, against Wauwatosa West: Polachek, a sophomore, homered and drove in six runs during her three-hit night.

APRIL 22: lost, 2-1, at Oak Creek: In this nonconference battle between area heavyweights, Oak Creek pitcher Alyssa Sirocchi limited Greenfield to four hits with five strikeouts.

More Whitnall results

APRIL 19: won, 8-7, against visiting Wauwatosa West: The Falcons tied the score at 7-7 with a run in the bottom of the seventh when Amy Ford connected for her fourth hit of the game to drive in Lizzy Menden with two outs. … In the bottom of the eight, Danielle Starke's line-drive, bases-loaded single to center brought home Allison Barnhart for the game-winning run.

APRIL 20: lost, 11-0, at New Berlin Eisenhower: Eisenhower pitcher Tori Kilps struck out 11 and did not allow a hit in the five-inning contest.