Pulaski Held Hitless Against Hestikin
Hayley Hestikin overpowered the Pulaski lineup, firing a no-hitter with 11 strikeouts to send Kaukauna to the state tournament with a 2-0 win. Not only did Hestikin dominate in the circle, she was also responsible for the game’s only runs after belting a two-out, two-run home run in the opening inning.
Pulaski managed only one baserunner, which came on a leadoff walk in the fifth inning, however they would fail to get a runner in scoring position the entire game.
Liz Pautz took the tough-luck loss, allowing just three hits total and only surrendered one over the final five innings; she tallied seven strikeouts.
While it stings coming up a game shy of returning to state for the second year in a row, the Red Raiders still have much to be proud of.
“I’m proud of this season,” said Pulaski coach Billie Jo Vertz after the game. “I just said [to the team] when you get this far, you’ve got to play both sides of the field, offense and defense, so we’ve got to execute. When you’re this far the best team that day is going to pull it out and we came up a little bit short today.”