GRAND CHUTE – Madison Edgewood coach Richard Newton II had watched  through the first five innings as base runner after baserunner was left on base in the WIAA Division 2 state semifinals.

After bringing a run in in the fifth inning to make it a 2-1 deficit, the Crusaders plated nine runs in the top of the sixth to get ahead, then blow past Fox Valley Lutheran en route to a 12-2 victory Wednesday night at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium.

“It’s one of those frustrating games early on because we couldn’t get the big hit we needed,” Newton said. “We were taking the walks they were giving us, but we just needed that clutch hit.

“Chris got us going with the run in the fifth and that got us believing we could make things happen when we had the opportunity and guys came through.”

Edgewood (24-4) will now get a shot at Bloomer in the WIAA Division 2 state championship game, slated for 3 p.m. Wednesday.

One of the big reasons the Crusaders are heading into Tuesday is Chris Ritter, who started the nine-run rally with a two-run single.

“Rob and I know that if we do our job, everyone else is going to follow suit,” Ritter said. “We kept getting guys on base and sooner or later we knew we could clutch up and get it done.”

The Rob Ritter was talking about was Robert Parman who followed Ritter in the order with an RBI single of his own right after Ritter which set the tone for the rest of the lineup.

“You have to like your chances with Ritter coming up and the bases loaded,” Newton said. “You know he’s got the potential to do something big, and he did. He put it in play, lines it up the middle, and we score two runs.

“The guys feed off that. They know when their big guys come up and take care of business, they’ve got to follow suit.”

It was an inning that never seemed to end for the Foxes (21-3) who gave up the nine runs on just three hits thanks to a plentiful amount of passed balls.

“We had 14 walks and hit by pitches and two errors and against Madison Edgewood, you just can’t give them free baserunners,” Fox Valley Lutheran coach David Kolander said. “It was just the opposite of what happened to us last week when we played West De Pere. We didn’t give them anything.”

For the senior Ritter, finally getting a shot to play for a state title is something he has been shooting for his entire three-year varsity career.

“That’s the only thing we’ve been going for,” Ritter said. “I’ve been on this team three years and that’s always been our goal. Now we’re just one step away from it.”

FULL GAME STATS