Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Improved play by Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn was evident in the results of two games at the South O'Brien softball tournament on June 11.
The Hawks lost their first game with Ridge View, 9-5, but there were encouraging signs.
"The girls played well and battled hard," Hawk coach Stephanie Bronstad said. "We had a few bobbles and errors that would have kept the game closer."
H-M-S matched Ridge View's (2A No. 11) first-inning run in the third inning. Eliza Tewes led off with a single and scored on another single by Kinsey Schirmer.
The Raptors scored four times in the third to regain the lead, but the Hawks stayed close. They scored twice in the fourth inning on a run-scoring single by Meghan Larson and a groundout by Kamryn Ebel. Following a run by Ridge View in the fourth, H-M-S tightened the margin to 6-5 on a two-run single by Larson in the fifth. Ridge View had the last word, scoring three runs in the fifth to rebuild the margin back to four runs.
Larson was the only H-M-S hitter with multiple hits.
Gracie Knobloch was the losing pitcher. She gave up nine hits and nine runs, walked three and struck out three.
In the consolation game, the Hawks ended their four-game losing streak in a big way with a 12-0 defeat of South O'Brien.
H-M-S scored 11 runs in the third inning. Big hits included a two-run single by Abby Kunzman, a pair of RBI singles by Gracie Knobloch and run-scoring hits by Cadence Klein, Kinsey Schirmer, Delaney Murphy and Meghan Larson.
The Hawks scored their final run in the fourth inning.
Kamryn Ebel earned the pitching win. She allowed two hits, walked two and struck out two.
"The girls came to play and the bats were on fire," Bronstad noted. "Defensively we played well (no errors). It was good to see the girls play well."
The Hawks improved to 5-7 overall. They play at West Sioux (Ireton) on June 17, host George-Little Rock on June 21 (varsity only) and play at Harris-Lake Park on June 22.
