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The
Official Newspaper of Anamosa, located in Jones County, Iowa
Anamosa News
Since 1855
 Thursday, July 12, 2007
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Anamosa tracking a Tri-Rivers title
By
Daryl Schepanski - Sports Editor |
ANAMOSA — Making a bold statement as they close in on a coveted Tri-Rivers Conference title, the Anamosa softball team blasted past visiting North Linn Monday, July 2, using a combination of powerful pitching, offense and precision defense to roll to a doubleheader sweep of the Lynx.
“This wasn’t exactly an easy team to play coming in,” said Raider softball coach Rick Delagardelle as his team is on the brink of a River Division softball title and are also nearing an overall league championship with four key contests yet to play. “Sometimes when you face pitching that’s a little slower than the norm, it can throw you off and make it tough to hit. But our girls kept focused on the task at hand and timed North Linn’s pitchers very well and hit the ball hard in both games.”
Anamosa (23-12, 14-4) led the Lynx just 2-0 through three frames in the first game, but exploded for 10 big runs in the fourth inning and cruised to a lopsided 12-0 rout. |
Dialing long distance
Anamosa senior Traci Dirks drills the softball on its way over the left field fence for a long first-inning home run helping the Raiders to a 13-2 rout hosting North Linn Monday, July 2, in the second game of the Tri-Rivers Conference doubleheader hosting the Lynx. (Journal-Eureka photo by Daryl Schepanski) |
“It appeared early on this might be one of those cases where the slower pitching was going to be tough for us to hit,” said Delagardelle. “But in the fourth inning, everything fell into place and everyone began to hit.”
The inning started with Maisie Timp crossing the plate then after Cammy Dole, Lindsey Bildstein, Mallory Lacy, Chelsey Bildstein, Kellie Vaughn, Kayla Sanborn and Traci Dirks all scored, Anamosa had a huge 10-0 lead.
Timp and Dole scored for the second time in the frame with Dole ending the contest with the 12-run rule when Lindsey Bildstein ripped a single.
Anamosa sent 13 batters to the plate in the pivotal fourth frame and yielded a mere out in the inning before ending the contest early.
Dirks and Lindsey Bildstein led a nine-hit offense tallying two hits each with Dirks just missing a home run in the third inning when a blast off her bat hit the top of the center field fence resulting in a double.
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Reason to smile
Raider eighth-grader Lindsey Bildstein smiles at coach Rick Delagardelle after scoring in Anamosa’s big 10-run fourth inning hosting the Lynx Monday, July 2. The Raiders rolled to a 12-0, four-inning triumph in the first game then added a huge 13-2 in the second game win to sweep the twinbill and continue to stay in the hunt for a River Division softball championship. (Journal-Eureka photo by Daryl Schepanski) |
“Mallory was working another great game pitching too,” said Delagardelle. “When we have it all going, we can be a pretty tough team to beat.”
Lacy was un-hittable yet again, tossing her third no-hitter of the campaign working all four frames while fanning eight Lynx batters.
“The bats kept working in the second game too,” said Delagardelle as Anamosa completed the sweep with a 13-2, six-inning triumph. “We just picked up where we left off in the first game.”
The Raiders wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard in the second game tallying six runs in the very first inning, two coming when Dirks blasted a long two-run homer over the left field fence scoring Dakota Ahrendsen.
“Traci has been swinging a pretty hot bat lately,” said Delagardelle. “I like to see our whole offense come alive like this. Everyone was contributing up and down the line-up.”
Chelsey Bildstein, Timp, Dole and Lindsey Bildstein all crossed the plate as well in the six-run opening frame.
The Raiders led 6-2 in the third and exploded for four more runs taking charge with a 10-2 advantage before cruising home for the 11-run victory.
“I have to give credit where credit is due,” said Delagardelle. “It would have been easy for the girls to have gotten a little complacent after the big win in the first game, but that didn’t happen.
They went after and got the second game with the same intensity and just kept getting after it the whole way through. These are the kind of efforts I like to see and am very proud of.”
Anamosa worked 11 walks and took advantage of four Lynx errors while recording seven hits of their own in the big league sweep.
Dole scored three times and had two hits while also swiping three bases pacing the hosts.
“Cammy has come a long ways figuring out this slapping style of hitting,” said Delagardelle.
“She is a weapon with her speed and we try and take advantage of that.”
Lacy tossed the first four frames and fanned six while Helena McNamara worked the final two innings of hitless softball striking out four Lynx batters.
Senior Night for the Raider softball team proved to be extra special for the team’s lone senior, Traci Dirks as Anamosa hosted Bellevue Thursday, July 5.
Dirks broke a 1-1 tie with the Comets drilling a walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh sending the Raiders home winners in a wild 2-1 final.
“This was a tight game the whole way until Traci’s blast in the seventh inning,” said Delagardelle. “It was gone off the bat too, right over the 210-foot sign in dead center-field. It was an absolute blast right when we needed it.”
Dirks became the first Anamosa softball player to homer in consecutive games since all-state superstar Shelly Sleep almost 10 years ago.
The Raiders took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Dole singled home Ahrendsen, who had reached with a double to start the frame.
“We didn’t have too many opportunities to score but thankfully Mallory made sure the case was the same for them too,” said Delagardelle. “Mallory kept a good Bellevue team off-balance firing strikes all game long.”
Lacy struck-out 12 Comet batters overall and yielded a mere four hits in her seven sensational innings of work in the pitchers’ circle.
Dole led the offense with a 2-for-2 night and also swiped two more bases.
“That was a fun way to win a game,” said Delagardelle. “Chelsey did another great job behind the plate grabbing all those strikeout pitches of Mallory’s and Cammy had another good day at the plate. We’re getting some contributors coming from everywhere and when we can get that, we’re a pretty potent team.”
Anamosa made their way to the two-day Lisbon Invitational opening up against North Cedar Friday, July 6, and handed the Knights a narrow 2-0 defeat.
The Raiders scored all the runs they’d need in the fourth inning breaking a scoreless tie when Sanborn ripped a double then after a pair of North Cedar errors on the play, crossed the plate giving Anamosa a lead.
One batter later, Ahrendsen blasted a solo home run to add insurance for the Raiders.
“We struggled getting girls on base all game long so we needed that big blast from Dakota,” said Raider assistant coach Ron Timp who coached the Raider team while Delagardelle was away on personal business. “We needed to give Mallory a little something to work with and while it wasn’t very much, thankfully it was all she needed.”
The fourth inning saw two of the Raiders’ overall three hits in the contest as Timp added a seventh inning single for the offense.
“Their pitcher was slow and we struggled with that,” said Timp. “We took advantage of the few opportunities we had though.”
Lacy tossed a three-hitter at the Knights and struck-out nine overall in working all seven frames in the pitchers’ circle.
Anamosa faced Lone Tree next in the tournament and again in a pitchers duel, outlasted the Lions in another 2-0 final.
“Again, our offense didn’t get too much accomplished but Mallory did her job,” said Timp. “She threw strikes and her defense was there the few times she needed it.”
The Raiders broke through scoring twice in the second inning when Lacy ripped a two-out single that plated teammates Dole and Lindsey Bildstein with the game’s lone runs.
Lacy held Lone Tree to just one hit in the seven inning contest and tallied a whopping 13 strikeouts.
With a 2-0 tourney record after the first day, the Raiders returned to Lisbon Saturday, July 7, and were handed a tough 4-0 defeat at the hands of Davenport West.
“I think we came in a little intimidated by the big school name,” said Delagardelle. “They scored a few on us early too but after we settled down, we proved we could play right with them.”
Raider bats were held to just two hits overall while the Falcons scored three times in the first and added another run in the third inning to win.
The final game of the tournament saw Anamosa wait until 10:45 p.m. before starting their contest against Calamus-Wheatland, but proved worth the wait as just after midnight, posted a wild come-from-behind 5-4 victory.
“I’m not sure I’ve ever been a part of a game that stretched into two different days before,” said Delagardelle. “The tournament went way off schedule and we were forced to wait a long time before getting this game underway, but it sure was a fun way to ring in the new day at midnight.”
The Raiders trailed 4-0 before Dirks scored in the fifth frame and were staring at the same 4-1 deficit in the seventh before the bats broke loose.
After Dirks reached on an error, Timp and Dole singled before Lindsey Bildstein reached on another Warrior error that plated Dirks and Timp.
Lacy drilled the game-ending hit that scored Lindsey Bildstein and sent weary Raider fans home extremely happy.
“I couldn’t have scripted a better way to end that game,” said Delagardelle. “It was late but the girls never quit and like we have all year long, just kept on coming.”
Dole led a seven-hit Anamosa offense with a pair of singles while Lacy worked deep into the night striking out 10 batters while yielding just six hits to the powerful Calamus-Wheatland offense. |
Finishing the season strong
By
Daryl Schepanski - Sports Editor |
ANAMOSA— Center Point-Urbana picked a bad time to make a trip to Anamosa, facing a blue-hot Raider baseball team Tuesday, July 3.
“We’ve had some pretty good battles with Center Point over the years and this time we got the best of them in both games,” said Anamosa baseball coach Byron Schlotterback after his team swept past the perennially powerful Pointers during a rain re-scheduled rare morning doubleheader.
“This was our 12th game in nine days and I was a little worried we might be running on empty. But the guys jumped out quickly and scored some first inning runs and we held on to win the first game before completing the sweep in the second game.”
Anamosa (22-14, 8-8) plated four big first-inning runs against the Pointers as Tucker Vondracek, Nate Vaughn, Greg Vernon and Brandon Kula all ripped hits and scored.
“Our first five guys all got hits and hit the ball hard too,” said Schlotterback as his team posted a 5-4 win in the first game. “Then we completely lost our momentum as CP-U’s pitcher struck out 12 of our next 14 batters. All of a sudden we couldn’t make contact.”
The Pointers, who pushed across two runs in the first inning, added another in the fourth trimming the Raider lead to 4-3. |
Things looking up
Raider junior Tucker Vondracek cruises in under a Center Point-Urbana pop up during Anamosa’s sweep of the visiting Pointers Tuesday, July 3. (Journal-Eureka photo by Daryl Schepanski) |
Grade-A control
Anamosa senior Greg Vernon pitched a sensational game as the Raiders hosted Center Point-Urbana in the first game of a league twin-bill Tuesday, July 3. Vernon tossed the complete game and helped the hosts to a big 5-4 victory striking out three Pointer batters. (Journal-Eureka photo by Daryl Schepanski) |
“We needed to get some momentum back and Greg Vernon did it for us,” said Schlotterback. “With one-out he doubled and stole third then scored on a wild pitch. That run proved to be huge.”
Vernon was also tossing a gem on the mound making his first-ever conference pitching start baffling the Pointers with a wicked curveball that had CP-U batters off-balance all game long.
The Raiders led 5-3 entering the seventh when the visitors pushed across a run and had the tying and go-ahead runners on base before Vernon worked his way out of trouble.
“While our offense lost some of their command, thank goodness Greg never did on the mound,” said Schlotterback. “He pitched a great game and really helped himself at the plate too.”
Vernon and Nathan Kaufman led the eight-hit Anamosa offense with two hits each while Vernon tossed all seven frames on the hill striking out three Pointer batters while allowing seven hits overall. |
The second game saw the hosts again fall behind early, but rebounded with a big 7-1 rout of the CP-U.
“This was a great way to go into the Fourth of July break,” said Schlotterback. “This little break couldn’t have come at a better time for us. We had played so many games in such a short stretch of time, we needed this sweep then needed a day off.”
The Pointers scored in the second inning taking a 1-0 lead before Anamosa answered with a run of their own in the frame.
The Raiders plated two more in the third without the benefit of a hit then blew the game wide-open in the fifth plating four runs as Vondracek, Nate Vaughn, Vernon and Kula all crossed the plate.
“Kaufman did a great job on the mound,” said Schlotterback. “We needed him to go deep into the game with our pitching pretty thin because of all the innings and he did exactly that.”
Kaufman tossed a complete game four-hitter and fanned four Pointer batters.
Hits came from seven different Raiders in the line-up.
Anamosa traveled to Monticello for a big doubleheader with the rival Panthers and after dropping the opening game in a five-inning 11-1 final, did the very same to the hosts in the second game dropping Monticello in a five-inning 11-1 final.
“This was a weird couple of games,” said Schlotterback. “We went from being completely dominated to completely dominating Monticello in a one-game span.”
Anamosa scored their lone run of the first game in the second inning evening the score at 1-1 before the Panthers scored three times in the second, twice in the third and ended the contest with five runs in the fourth.
The second game saw fortunes turn however as the Raiders, trailing 1-0 in the fifth, plated a whopping 11 runs against Monticello.
“That was as exciting an inning as I’ve ever been around,” said Schlotterback. “Things got pretty crazy when their pitcher intentionally hit Kalib Seeley with the bases loaded then Alec Embree came up next and ripped a bases clearing triple.”
In the inning Vondracek, Vernon, Andrew Peters, Kaufman (twice), Seeley (twice), Embree (twice), Jordan Alderdyce and Brady Vaughn all crossed the plate.
Embree held Panther bats to a mere two hits and recorded seven strikeouts in his five-innings on the hill.
“Alec did a great job,” said Schlotterback. “They scored only one unearned run and he was in command all game long.”
Anamosa bats ripped 11 hits in the five-inning 11-1 winning contest led by Vernon’s three singles. Embree drove home four runs while recording two hits at the plate. Kaufman and Alderdyce also added two hits to the Raider effort.
Anamosa hosted Bellevue Thursday, July 5, and in a pitcher’s duel, outlasted the Comets taking a 3-1 final.
Vondracek, Nate Vaughn and Vernon all scored in the first inning as the Raiders scratched out the three runs with the help of just two hits.
Embree and Kaufman made the runs stand combining to pitch a three-hitter striking out eight overall.
Bellevue scored their lone run in the sixth and never threatened again.
The Raiders played their final home contests of the 2007 campaign Friday, July 6, entertaining Midland and handed the Eagles 9-2 and 10-0 defeats.
“Midland has had some pretty big wins this year and we used that as motivation,” said
Schlotterback. “We know we can’t take anyone for granted and used a bunch of extra-base hits to win both games.”
Kula keyed a five-run fourth inning with a two-run homer and led the Raider offense with three hits in the first game while also logging seven innings on the hill allowing just two Eagle hits.
The second game saw a five-run fifth frame end the contest early with the 10-run rule.
Vernon and Nate Vaughn led the offense with two hits each while Stu Miller worked a sensational two-hitter on the mound. |
Eagles peaking at the right time
By
Daryl Schepanski - Sports Editor |
WYOMING — Making a statement in the Big East Conference standings on Senior Night, the Midland baseball team rallied for a big 10-5 triumph hosting Preston Monday, July 2.
Trailing 5-2 in the fourth inning, the Eagles rallied when Alex Paulsen scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Jarred Stepp before Spencer Bowen singled home Zach Bonney.
Midland tied the score when Scott Willimack singled in Bowen and through four frames, the score was knotted at 5-5.
But the rest of the contest would belong to the hosts as the Eagles scored the final five runs of the game and cruised home with the five-run victory.
“We didn’t play our best baseball tonight, however we were able to pull out the win,” said Eagle baseball coach Josh Soper. |
On the money
Midland second-baseman Zach Bonney records a putout for the Eagles at Anamosa Friday, July 6. (Journal-Eureka photo by Daryl Schepanski) |
Full extension
Midland’s Riley Williams records one of the Eagles’ three hits during a 9-2 setback at Anamosa in the first game of a twin-bill with the Raiders Friday, July 6. (Journal-Eureka photo by Daryl Schepanski) |
“Scott didn’t have his best stuff but pitched seven tough innings for us. Defensively we played really well and made some tough plays.”
Midland (11-14, 8-3) plated three runs in the fifth then added two more in the sixth to take command.
“We did come out and hit the baseball well,” said Soper.
“Several guys had solid hits. Gene Ehlers and Jordan Oberbreckling came off the bench and really sparked us with two big hits. The team really needed that and it gave us a lot of momentum.”
Ehlers tallied a pinch-hit single that scored Geoff Dammann in the fifth inning while Oberbreckling ripped a pinch-hit double to score Paulsen in the same frame.
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“It was Senior Night and we have seven seniors on this team,” said Soper. “It was nice to send them out with a win in their last home game.”
Preston scored the first two runs of the game in the very first inning but Midland quickly answered when Jed Holland doubled home Stepp and Riley Williams doubled in Holland to tie the score.
Willimack worked around 11 Preston hits in his seven innings of work on the hill for the Eagles allowing four earned runs while fanning six Trojan batters.
Midland managed an impressive 12 hits of their own led by Bowen, Holland, Willimack and Williams with two each.
The Eagles also tallied a whopping five doubles in the win with Bowen, Holland, Willimack, Williams and Oberbreckling all ripping two-baggers.
The Eagles wrapped up their 2007 Big East Conference slate Tuesday, July 3, traveling to Camanche where they closed out a remarkable run finishing in a tie for second-place in the league after a big 11-7, eight-inning victory over the Indians.
“For a team that wasn’t picked to be in the top-5 of our league, finishing in second is a pretty big accomplishment,” said Soper. “I’m happy with where we’re at as a team. We really need to keep some momentum going as we now get ready for districts.”
The Eagles led 5-0 before Camanche rallied scoring three times in the third and two more in the fifth to knot the score and force extra frames.
“This was a hard-fought game by our team tonight,” said Soper. “We not only had to beat Camanche, but we had to beat the umpires as well. I hate to say that, but it was true. I am so proud of our kids for playing hard until the end and they were rewarded with the win.”
Midland attacked in the eighth inning scoring six times keyed by a huge three-run home run off the bat of Williams that also plated Holland and Willimack.
Trevor Robinson followed with a solo home run for the Eagles finishing off the amazing frame.
Paulsen was first to score in the eighth before Stepp scored thanks to an Indian error.
“There were several key plays in this game,” said Soper. “But Riley’s huge home run in the eighth inning was the biggest. A clutch hit by a clutch player.”
Camanche attempted to rally scoring twice in their half of the eighth but Williams, who tossed a solid five-hitter in working all eight innings on the hill, held back the Indian rally.
The Eagles scored twice in the opening inning when a Holland sacrifice fly plated Stepp and a Willimack double scored Bowen to give the visitors a quick 2-0 lead.
Midland jumped out in front 5-0 after a three-run third inning that saw Williams open the scoring with a two-run homer that also scored Willimack.
A Paulsen double also plated Cameron Sorgenfrey as the Eagles built the big early cushion.
Midland dominated the game offensively ripping a whopping 14 hits overall while Williams held Camanche bats to just five.
Stepp, Williams and Paulsen tallied three hits each for the Eagles while Willimack came through with two more.
Williams was brilliant on the hill fanning seven Indians overall allowing four earned runs.
The 2007 Midland regular season came to a close at Anamosa Friday, July 6, as the Eagles tangled against the class 3A Raiders in a doubleheader.
“We just weren’t really able to get much going in these games,” said Soper. “Anamosa is playing pretty good baseball right now. We had some hard hit balls, but Anamosa played solid defense. Greg Vernon took away at least five hits from us in center-field.”
Midland dropped the opener against the Raiders in a 9-2 final.
Anamosa jumped out to an 8-0 lead before Stepp ripped a double that scored Bonney and Holland singled in Stepp.
Eagle bats were held to just three hits in the opener while Paulsen tossed all six frames on the hill fanning three Raider batters allowing eight earned runs.
The second game saw Midland continue to struggle in a rough 10-0, five-inning defeat.
“We really viewed this doubleheader as extra batting practice for us before districts,” said Soper. “We only had five hits in the two games, but we also had several hard hit balls so this doubleheader served its purpose.”
The Eagles were held to two hits in the second game as Bowen and Holland tallied the lone safeties.
Adam Lasack tossed the first three frames before giving way to Cody Dirks and Bonney. |
Rising up the ranks in the Big East
By
Daryl Schepanski - Sports Editor |
GOOSE LAKE — Just two days earlier the Olin softball team played in the championship game at the Northeast tournament and were handed a narrow defeat.
Monday, July 2, back in Goose Lake, the Lions took the game that really mattered, the Big East Conference contest with the Rebels in a wild 6-2 final over the hosts.
“We got off to a slow start but came on late to win this one,” said Lion softball coach Karen Ginn after her team scored five runs in the sixth inning to erase a 2-1 deficit and post the thrilling four-run victory. “We never got shook and didn’t get nervous or stopped believing we could win. We just kept after it and kept after it and finally got the job done at the end.”
Olin (15-10, 7-5) trailed 1-0 in the fourth inning when Makenzie Ginn singled and came around to score on a passed ball knotting the score at 1-1.
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Makenzie can hit too
Olin’s Makenzie Ginn rips a hit against Midland during action from the Central City tournament Saturday, July 7. (Journal-Eureka photo by Daryl Schepanski) |
Blasting off
Olin’s Danielle Frederick blasts off the bag at second during hot Central City tournament action Saturday, July 7. (Journal-Eureka photo by Daryl Schepanski) |
The Rebels, who had scored in the second inning to take an early lead, went ahead again scoring once in the fifth frame leading 2-1 entering the sixth.
“We were hitting the softball and putting the ball in play,” said Ginn. “We just needed to string a few hits together and we were going to be fine. The girls did that in the sixth inning.”
Trailing 2-1, Kalli Hansen reached on a fielder’s choice in the sixth inning and after key hits from Ginn, Jackee Butteris, Chelsea Wagner and Emily Brecht, Olin had taken the lead for good.
Butteris singled home Hansen with the game-tying run and Wagner followed with a RBI single that plated Ginn before Brecht drilled a key triple that scored Butteris and Wagner. Brecht came across to score thanks to a Rebel error and Olin had their five-run frame and four-run victory.
“This was one we really wanted too,” said Ginn. “We knew we should have beaten them at their tournament just two days earlier so to come all the way back here again and lose wasn’t something that entered into our way of thinking.”
Ginn was masterful in the pitchers’ circle holding the Rebels to a mere three hits while fanning two Northeast batters. |
“We played some solid defense behind Makenzie,” said Ginn. “We had a couple of errors that led to one unearned run, but for the most part our defense made the plays that had to be made.”
Lion bats were also impressive ripping a whopping 10 hits in the victory that closed the league slate for the Olin team with a solid 7-5 mark overall.
“Not too bad for the number of girls we have on this team,” said Ginn. “Finishing 7-5 in the Big East is an accomplishment these girls should be proud of.”
Ginn led the Lion offense with three hits as eight of the nine in the Olin order all tallied hits.
The Lions traveled to Central City Saturday, July 7, taking part in the Wildcats’ annual
invitational and opened against rival Midland who handed Olin a 4-1 defeat.
The Lions actually took an early lead against the Eagles scoring in the very first inning when Ginn singled home Kelli Bean handing Olin a 1-0 advantage.
Midland, the home team on the scoreboard, answered immediately and added two runs in the fourth breaking the 1-1 tie.
After a run in the sixth and with Erika Lineburg holding Olin bats at bay, the Lions were held to three hits overall in the three-run defeat at the hands of their Jones County rivals.
“We had to do some juggling with the line-up and some positional changes with Kalli not being with us,” said Ginn as her star shortstop was at a basketball tournament. “We missed her out there. Midland didn’t hit the ball overly hard, but we struggled making the routine plays and just threw to wrong bases and made mistakes we don’t normally make.”
Bean, Danielle Frederick and Ginn tallied the lone Lion hits in the tournament opening defeat while Ginn tossed a five-hitter at the Eagles allowing two earned runs and fanned two.
Olin went up against eventual tournament champion Marion next and were handed an 8-2 defeat by the Indians.
“Marion played small ball and used their team speed to create a lot of scoring opportunities,” said Ginn. “We just couldn’t string any hits together to mount any kind of rally.”
Trailing 8-0 in the sixth and final inning due to time limit, the Lions struck for two runs when Ginn singled home Bean and Frederick.
Ginn tallied half of the Olin hits connecting for three off Marion pitching while Frederick added two more.
Bean started in the pitchers’ circle and fanned four Indian batters.
The final game of the tournament played in 90-degree heat saw the Lions roll past the host Wildcats in an 8-2 final.
Bean, Frederick and Ginn all scored in the first inning and after Brecht tripled and scored in the second, added three more runs in the fourth frame when Haley Schroeder, Frederick and Ginn all crossed the plate handing Olin a big 7-0 advantage.
“It was nice to get a break after playing back-to-back games against Midland and Marion in that heat,” said Ginn. “And our bats responded too.”
Bean doubled home the final run of the game in the fifth plating Brecht putting the Lions up 8-0.
“Makenzie pitched another good game and the girls were solid again on defense too,” said Ginn. “This was a nice way to end what was a pretty frustrating tournament for us.”
Olin bats ripped a whopping 13 hits led by Frederick’s three hits. Ginn, Roxanne Stolte and Brecht all added two hits while Ginn tossed all seven frames and fanned six Wildcats. |
Midland takes second at Central City tournament
By
Daryl Schepanski - Sports Editor |
CENTRAL CITY— Looking to defend their 2006 tournament championship, the Midland softball team was back in Central City Saturday, July 7, looking to make it back-to-back crowns at the annual invitational.
Midland (16-14, 8-4) opened against rival Olin and after trailing 1-0 early in the contest, rallied for a 4-1 victory.
Eagle bats were impressive ripping 10 hits overall and after answering a first-inning Lion run with one of their own, took the lead for good with a two-run fourth frame before adding a sixth-inning insurance run.
Erika Lineburg was brilliant in the pitchers’ circle holding Olin to just two hits while striking out seven Lion batters while Caitlin Bisinger and Paige Paulsen led the offense with two hits each.
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Following instructions
Midland’s Amanda Hansen checks coach Patrick Block for signs against Olin at the Central City Invitational Saturday, July 7. (Journal-Eureka photo by Daryl Schepanski) |
After the win the Eagles battled the host Wildcats and rolled past Central City in an 11-5 final.
Midland struggled early, trailing the hosts 5-2 as Central City scored once in the second inning then added four more runs in the fourth to take the three-run lead.
The Eagles plated two runs in the top of the fourth to take a brief 2-1 lead but rallied in the sixth and seventh frames scoring four times in each inning to take complete control of the contest.
Bats were booming for both sides as the two teams combined for 26 hits.
Amy Burmeister led the Midland offense with three hits that included a single, double and triple. Hansen, Bisinger, Aubrey Walters, Emily Kleinsmith and Shasta Eganhouse all ripped two hits each for the Midland offense as well. Hansen also stole two bases.
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Swinging the lumber
Eagle Aubrey Walters drills a hit for Midland during their opening round 4-1 victory over Olin at the Central City Invitational Saturday, July 7. The Eagles went 2-1 overall and finished second to Marion at the tourney. (Journal-Eureka photo by Daryl Schepanski) |
Maisie Woodward earned the start in the pitchers’ circle and worked her way around the 12 Wildcat hits fanning two Central City batters and yielding just one earned run.
The win advanced Midland to what amounted as a championship contest agains
t Marion as both teams came into the contest 2-0 with the winner leaving with the tournament title.
In the end however, it was the Indians taking the crown after a 10-1, six-inning victory leaving the Eagles as the tournament runner-up.
Marion took a lead plating two first-inning runs then added single runs in the third, fourth and fifth frames to take a commanding 5-0 lead.
The Indians broke the game wide-open in the sixth plating five runs.
The Eagles tallied their lone run in the sixth as Amber French crossed the plate thanks to an RBI double from Hansen.
Midland traveled to Camanche for their Big East Conference finale Tuesday, July 3, and thanks to some sensational pitching from Lineburg and some timely offense, pulled out a thrilling 3-0 victory.
“We hit the ball hard tonight,” said Midland softball coach Patrick Block as his team tallied 10 hits overall. “Paige Paulsen came up with two real nice triples to help out our offense and Kelsey Pestka has fit nicely in the DH hole by hitting the ball hard.”
Kleinsmith plated Sammi Jeffery with a sacrifice fly in the second inning giving Lineburg all the support she’d need.
Midland added two more insurance runs in the fourth frame when Lineburg and Kleinsmith scored thanks to a two-run triple off the bat of Paulsen.
Lineburg fanned nine Indian batters and yielded a mere two hits in tossing the complete game shutout.
The Eagles hosted Preston Monday, July 2, and in a tight contest with the Trojans, were edged in a 2-0 Big East Conference final.
Preston scored once in the first then added another in the fifth to end all the scoring in the contest.
“We just did not come through when we needed to tonight,” said Block. “Preston played a very tough game and made the plays when they needed to. We just were not as disciplined and didn’t do the little things to win the game.”
Preston played errorless softball while three Eagle errors factored into the Trojan scoring.
Walters, who had two doubles, and Eganhouse, who had a single and a triple, led the five-hit Midland offense.
Lineburg fanned four in the tough luck pitching defeat.
“Erika pitched another fine game,” said Block. “We need to start giving her some more support at the plate.”
The Eagles hosted Monticello in a doubleheader Friday, July 6, and after dropping the first game in a 4-2 final, rebounded for a big 3-2 triumph in the finale.
Midland scored the game-winner in the second game when Hansen converted a perfectly placed suicide squeeze bunt that scored Katie Leonard just ahead of the throw to win the game in bottom of the seventh.
“This was a very exciting win for us,” said Block. “We not only proved we can play with anybody, but that we can come back to win in any situation.”
The Eagles trailed 2-0 before a Walters double scored Hansen and Kleinsmith to tie the score in the sixth.
Lineburg fanned 10 Monticello batters. |
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