Hornets stop Juda co-op, fall at Belmont
Submitted by admin on Sun, 06/08/2025 - 21:39
Hornets center fielder Kiley Manning goes all out to try and catch the line drive hit by Juda-Albany during last Tuesday’s D5 regional semifinal. (Derick Kelly/Courier Press)
By Derick Kelly
The Wauzeka-Steuben Hornets welcomed the Juda-Albany co-op team to Wauzeka last Tuesday, May 27 for a D5 regional semifinal game and a rematch of last year’s contest that was won by host Juda-Albany. The Hornets, who were shutout 4-0 in last year’s game at Juda, wasted little time this year getting the offense going when they scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning. The Hornets would add another run in the third inning before the Juda-Albany co-op got on the scoreboard in the fourth inning with their only run of the game.
W-S would respond with two runs in the fourth inning and two more in the fifth inning as they would claim a 8-1 victory to eliminate the co-op. The Hornets were led at the plate by Kiley Manning (3-for-4 with a double, one run scored and one RBI), Emma Wall (2-for-3 with a double, a walk, two runs scored and one RBI), Isabella Bunders (2-for-4 with a double, one run scored and three RBIs) and Devyn Allert (2-for-2 with a walk and two runs scored). Brianna Ray added a triple in the win. Ray also earned the pitching win after allowing only one run on four hits and three walks while striking out 10.
The win extended the Hornets winning streak to eight and advanced them to a regional final at No. 1 seed Belmont two nights later. Wauzeka-Steuben got off to a fast start in the first inning with a lead off home run by Wall to take a quick 1-0 lead. The Hornets kept the Braves off the scoreboard in the first two innings, but the Braves finally broke through in the bottom of the third with four runs to go up 4-1. Belmont would score another run in the bottom of the fifth to make the score 5-1, which would be the final score as the hosts kept the Hornets from any potential rally late. Wauzeka-Steuben was held to just three total hits with Allert, Manning and Wall having one hit each. Ray suffered the loss in the pitching circle, allowing five runs (three earned) on 11 hits and one walks while striking out three in 5.0 innings pitched.
The Hornets ended the season with a 17-4 record overall and 14-0 in the Ridge & Valley Conference. Two of those four Hornet losses came at the hands of the No. 1 ranked team in D5 in Belmont. The Hornets finished the 2025 season by going 17-2 after starting the season with back-to-back losses to River Ridge and Fennimore. Wauzeka-Steuben graduates four seniors in Manning, Savannah Swatek, Wall and Sophia Walz.
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