It was a sweet repeat.

The top-ranked Bradford softball team capped back-to-back perfect Southeast Conference seasons with a 9-5 victory over host Tremper on Thursday.

The Red Devils held a comfortable 8-0 lead before the never-say-die Trojans came back with two runs in the sixth and three in the seventh.

Bradford (18-0, 13-0 SEC) broke open a scoreless game with six runs in the third inning off Tremper starter Tiegen Leable.

Courtney Mercier’s two-out walk with the based loaded plated Cayla Schlevensky, who singled earlier in the inning. Schlevensky advanced to third on singles by Celena Perez and Alyse Mikolas. Alyssa Roberts singled to right, clearing the bases when the throw to home got away from catcher Jessie Werbie.

Sarah Swager then tripled to right center, scoring Roberts. Ari Roberts put the finishing touches on the big two-out rally with an RBI single.

“Our hitters showed great discipline at the plate,” Bradford coach John P. Ruffolo said. “We really drove the ball well to all fields from the third inning on.”

Mercier hit her fifth home run of the season to lead off the fifth inning to make it 7-0.

Bradford starter Ali Brems (8-0) scattered 11 hits while walking one and striking out six.

Tremper scored two in the sixth on a two-run double by Ashliee Arreguin. The Trojans tacked on three more in the seventh on a two-run single by Werbie and an RBI grounder by Arreguin.

“I’m proud of the way that we played today,” Tremper coach Doug Townsend said. “To put up five runs against a pitcher like Ali says a lot about our team. This definitely gives us some momentum.”

Mercier, Perez, Swager, Ari Roberts and Alyse Mikolas all had two hits for Bradford.

Gabbi Garcia went 3-for-4 and Werbie, Lauren Boresch and Katelyn Gorman all had two hits for Tremper (12-6, 9-3 SEC).

Leable walked two and struck out four in her complete game.

Central in no-hitter

Jessie Clark and Kristin Kretschmer teamed up for a five-inning no-hitter as Central blanked visiting Elkhorn 10-0 in a Southern Lakes Conference game.

Clark struck out five in three perfect innings, while Kretschmer walked one and struck out three in her two innings for the Falcons (13-6, 7-5 SLC).

Bryanna Heckel went 3-for-4 with three RBI. She opened the scoring with a two-run home run in the first inning and added an RBI triple in the second. Jess Hrncar also went 3-for-4 with a triple and two RBI.

Other offensive leaders were Clark (two hits), Hayden Krueger (two hits, two RBI) and Ashley Banike (two RBI).

“We did a nice job on the offensive side of the ball as well, putting the ball in play,” Central coach Kerri Hintz said. “When you do that consistently, good things are going to happen.”

WIAA Division-3 playoffs

Lancers in 19-0 win

What a way to kick off the postseason.

St. Joseph picked up 12 hits in only four innings in a 19-0 victory over Heritage Christian in a WIAA Division-3 regional quarterfinal at Little League Park.

The game was called after five innings.

“All the girls contributed for the win,” St. Joseph coach Ellen Santarelli said. “The girls were selective with their pitches, made solid contact and drove in runs.”

Kendall Bonnin pitched a one-hitter with no walks and seven strikeouts for the Lancers (13-6).

Leslie Fletcher hit a two-run home run in her team’s four-run first inning and the rout was on. Fletcher also doubled twice and finished with five RBI.

Kailee Cable (four hits, two doubles), Sydney Spracklin (two hits, triple, three RBI), Shannon Riley (two hits, RBI) and Bonnin (triple) also led the offense.

Christian Life rolls

Christian Life scored at least one run in five of seven innings in a 9-2 victory over Whitefish Bay Dominican in a WIAA Division-3 quarterfinal at Prairie Springs Park.

“Great defense, timely hitting and aggressive base running,” CLS coach Tim Knight said.

CLS (13-7) collected 12 hits and eight walks. The Eagles led 9-0 before Dominican ruined Brie Tennyson’s shutout bid with two runs in the bottom of the seventh.

Tennyson pitched a four-hitter with two walks and 10 strikeouts. She now has 226 strikeouts in 123 innings this season.

Tennyson, Erica Garcia, Jillian Gillmore and Kristi Shaw all had two hits. Kelly Rintelman had two RBI and Ashlynn Kelly scored three runs.

2 tough Ls for Pacers

Shoreland completed the rain-delayed Southeast Wisconsin Showcase with a 3-2 loss to Milwaukee Pius and a 9-6 loss to Menomonee Falls in Racine.

Pius scored three in the sixth to move to 14-8. The Pacers got a run in the fifth on an error and in the sixth on Taylor Bahr’s single before the Popes won it.

Against Menomonee Falls (17-3), Shoreland (13-9)got to within one with a three-run fifth and had the tying run at the plate in the sixth but could not capitalize. The game was called because of time after six.

“It was encouraging to see that once again we proved we can play with some of the top competition in the state regardless of division,” said Shoreland coach Tim Treder, whose team has seven losses to Division-1 schools. “We are battle-tested and looking forward to starting out tournament run next week. The girls are excited about the opportunities that lie ahead of them as we strive for a deep tournament run.”