Cathedral had two hits across the first three innings of the game, but it added 12 more in the rest of the game as they sealed the first-ever Tomahawk-Valley Conference Championship.

“Usually when we get one bat around, our next bat we just hit her,” Jaylin Hartness said. “I think it just takes us a while to recognize the pitcher and the pitcher’s speed and what she’s throwing. And then we usually get a hang of her.”

MCW head coach Darrell Ziegler said that Cathedral played a great game on the day.

“They’ve got a very good team,” he said. “We’ve just got to do a better job of getting to our changeup across the plate to keep them off balance a little better. As the game went on, they just got their timing down and hit the ball very well those last couple of innings.”

Staff photo by Ari Selvey New Ulm Cathedral’s Ava Brennan takes off to steal second during the Tomahawk-Valley Conference Softball Championship game against Martin County West Thursday at Caswell Park in North Mankato.

Jayde Altermatt earned the shutout win, striking out 10 and allowing seven hits in a complete game.

“I think what went well for our whole team was our defense was a lot better,” Altermatt said. “We played with teamwork. I think that everyone is really getting used to their roles in this team.”

The Cathedral defense also came up clutch at several key moments, including Ava Schmid throwing out a runner coming home from center field, with Hartness applying the tag.

“We don’t get scared in those types of situations,” Hartness said. “We usually push through. I feel like we’re never that nervous, we’re never jumpy to the point where we make that many mistakes. It’s good to see.”

At the plate for Cathedral, winners of 18 straight, Brynn Wilfahrt was 3 for 4 with an RBI and two runs scored, while Hartness was 2 for 4 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Ava Brennan was 2 for 5 with an RBI, while Madelyn Haala had a hit, two RBIs and a run scored. Altermatt was 2 for 4 with two RBIs and a run scored, and Ashlynn Hillesheim had a hit, an RBI and a run scored.

Staff photo by Ari Selvey New Ulm Cathedral’s Jaylin Hartness slides home for a run during the Tomahawk-Valley Conference Softball Championship game against Martin County West Thursday at Caswell Park in North Mankato. The Greyhounds ended up winning 11-0 to take home the first-ever Tomahawk-Valley Conference softball championship.

Maddy Carlson took the loss for MCW, striking out six while allowing 11 runs, six earned, on 14 hits. At the plate, Carlson was 2 for 3, while Hannah Rosenberg was 2 for 4.

Hartness got the scoring going for Cathedral in the fourth, singling before a bunt allowed her to take both second and third. Haala put down another bunt to score Hartness for a 1-0 lead.

Cathedral kept up the momentum in the fifth inning, with Altermatt scoring on an error put in to play by Schmid and Ashlynn Hillesheim and Schmid coming home on a double from Hartness.

“I was just waiting for the right pitch,” Hartness said. “Usually I like to hit the first one, sometimes they throw it right down the middle, and that’s my pitch. But they were throwing rise balls at me, and this year I’ve gotten a lot better at watching the junk go by. So I just waited for the right pitch and hit it out.”

Cathedral increased the lead to 5-0 as Wilfahrt scored on a double from Brennan in the sixth inning, then the Greyhounds put together a six-run inning in the seventh to put the game away. Schmid tripled to lead off the inning, then Hartness’ bunt made it through the infield for a single and an RBI. Hartness came home on a double from Haala, then Hartness scored on a double from Wilfahrt. A double from Altermatt scored both Abbey Hilleshiem and Wilfahrt, and Ashlynn Hilleshiem doubled to score Altermatt to put Cathedral up 11-0.

MCW put together an effort in the bottom of the seventh, with both Lillie Schultz and Rosenberg singling, but a groundout ended the inning and the game.

Despite the loss, Ziegler said the Mustangs had a strong regular season.

“Our season has been pretty solid,” Ziegler said. “We’ve played very good defense all year long. We’ve hit the ball very well, we’ve been very consistent for the most part. We had just a couple of games with some mental lapses, but overall our consistency has been very key for us.”

Cathedral (18-2) plays at Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton on Friday, while MCW (17-3) awaits playoff seeding.