Off to the right start

The 2023 softball season began according to plan for Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn, which mixed a strong night at the plate with good pitching and defense in a 10-7 win over visiting Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire on May 22.

Gracie Knobloch had four hits and three runs batted in, and Delaney Murphy hit three singles to lead H-M-S. Alexis Glover, Kinsey Schirmer and Eliza Tewes had one hit.

After leading off the second inning with hits, Knobloch scored on an error and Murphy beat the throw home on a fielder's choice.

GT/RA tied the score in the third inning but H-M-S took the lead back with a five-run fifth. Knobloch hit a two-run double, Eliza Tewes drove in a run with a groundout and an error and a wild pitch led to two more runs.

Knobloch and Tewes hit RBI singles in the Hawks' three-run sixth inning. Those extra runs were good insurance, as GT/RA scored four times in the seventh.

Knobloch was the winning pitcher. She gave up six hits and struck out eight.

"Gracie did a nice job throwing pitches on the mound and our bats came alive like we hoped," said Hawk coach Stephanie Bronstad. "We had a few errors that we need to clean up but overall I was very happy with the game."

• vs. G-LR

It isn't often that a team scores 13 runs with only five hits, but H-M-S did it during a 13-9 win at George-Little Rock on May 25.

The Hawks' only hit in a four-run first inning was Alexis Grover's RBI single. Kamryn Ebel and Eliza Tewes hit two-run doubles during a five-run second inning and Kinsey Schirmer added a single. Gracie Knobloch's two-run single in the third was the final hit.

Seventeen walks also contributed to the Hawks' scoring, including their runs in the fifth and seventh innings.

G-LR scored all their runs during the final three innings.

Ebel pitched 3-1/3 innings, giving up two hits, walking one and striking out four. Schirmer allowed six runs and four hits, walked three and struck out six.

• vs. Harris-Lake Park

Gracie Knobloch struck out 17 batters and the Hawks combined for 15 hits during a 13-6 win at Harris-Lake Park on May 26.

Nine H-LP hitters struck out swinging and eight were caught looking against Knobloch, who allowed six hits and walked four to earn the win.

At the plate, Knobloch hit a double and a single, with three runs batted in. Kamryn Ebel, Kinsey Schirmer and Eliza Tewes all had two hits and two RBI; Cadence Klein and Addy Sheeler each had two hits and one RBI; Abby Otto had one hit and two RBI; and Abby Kunzman and Delaney Murphy each had one hit.

After scoring a run in the first inning, H-M-S scored eight runs in the second and added four in the third.

H-LP also scored four times in the third and scored once in the fourth and sixth innings.

"The girls played a great game. Gracie stayed tough on the mound," Bronstad noted. "We had a few errors we could have cleaned up, but the girls fought until the end."

H-M-S (4-1, 2-0) plays at Gehlen Catholic on June 2 and in the Sheldon tournament on June 3, hosts Akron-Westfield on June 5 and plays at Hinton on June 7.