A winning season is on the line when the Tomah VFW 18-and-under girls softball team plays Onalaska Wednesday.

Tomah dropped a July 23 doubleheader to the Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau White squad, 3-1 and 9-8, at Gerke Field. They were Tomah’s fourth and fifth straight losses.

The doubleheader against Onalaska will be Tomah’s final two games of the season. Tomah takes a 7-7 record into the twinbill.

Tomah coach Michelle McDaniel said her team has played good softball most of the season but wasn’t in top form against Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau.

“We were a little rusty out there,” McDaniel said. “I don’t know what happened. We were just a little off.”

Tomah had a chance to gain a split after taking an 8-7 lead into the bottom of the fifth in the second game (Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau was the home team for the nightcap). Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau loaded the bases with one out, but Tomah managed to get the second out with a popup to the shortstop. A wild pitch to the next batter, however, allowed both the tying and winning runs to cross home plate.

Tomah took a 4-0 lead in the first inning of the second game. Kala Lindley launched the rally with a leadoff single and went to second on a walk from Maggie Ruedy. Brittany Swanson loaded the bases on an error one out later, and Lindley scored the game’s first run when Emilee Burkhalter reached on an error.

Shelby Walton followed with an RBI single, and Maggie Reardon lashed a two-run single with two outs to cap the rally.

After Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau scored a run in the bottom of the first, Tomah scored three more runs in the top of the second. Lindley launched the rally again by drawing a leadoff walk. Kendra Bundy reached base on an error, Swanson drew a walk and Burkhalter followed with a two-run single. Alicia Burkhalter hit another single for the inning’s third run to put Tomah ahead, 7-7.

Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau scored two in the second and four in the third to deadlock the contest at 7-7.

Tomah took its final lead in the fourth. After two quick outs, Walton kept the inning alive with a walk, Nofsinger reached on an error and Reardon delivered an RBI single.

First game

The first game was a pitchers duel. Tomah got its only run in the third, when Bundy legged out an infield single, stole second, went to third on an Ali Van Havermaet groundout and scored on a Burkhalter groundout.

“Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau is a good team,” McDaniel said. “Their first pitcher puts a lot of movement on her ball, and she’s tough to hit. In both games, we had some minor errors at just the wrong time.”

A week earlier, McDaniel was impressed by her team’s play in a 4-2, 4-1 doubleheader loss to La Crosse Central.

“We lost both of them, but we played two great games,” McDaniel said.

Brooke Von Haden had a big game in the opener. She blasted a triple and later scored on a Bundy single. As a catcher, Von Haden gunned down two runners attempting to steal.

In the second game, Tomah scored its only run when Van Havermaet hit a double off the fence that allowed Lindley to cross home plate.