Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Softball team tops Jays, Falcons to end week 2-2
Kinsey Schirmer scrambles back to first base to avoid being picked off in the game on June 16.
Addy Sheeler connects for an RBI single during H-M-S's 9-6 win over West Sioux.
The Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn softball team combined strong hitting and aggressive play to defeat Gehlen Catholic, 9-2, on June 14 in Hartley.
The victory came after two losses in which the Hawks were limited to four hits in each.
"The bats came alive and the girls tested them on the bases," said Hawk coach Stephanie Bronstad.
Two-out singles in the first inning by Gracie Knobloch and Abby Otto, along with an error, led to two runs. A two-run double by Knobloch and a single by Morgan Grooters were part of a four-run second inning, and a double by Abby Kunzman and a single by Kinsey Schirmer in the third helped the Hawks extend the lead to 9-2.
Kunzman contributed two doubles and one RBI; Knobloch had two hits and two RBI; and Kamryn Ebel, Alexis Grover, Delaney Murphy, Grooters, Otto and Schirmer each had one hit.
The Jays scored their runs in the third inning.
Knobloch pitched "a great game," scattering four hits, walking one and striking out eight.
• vs. West Sioux
The lead changed hands five times during H-M-S's 9-6 win over visiting West Sioux on June 16.
The Hawks led first, scoring two runs in the first inning on a single by Grover and an error. West Sioux scored a run in the second inning and two more in the third to take their first lead.
H-M-S went ahead in the third on a single by Sheeler, a passed ball and an error. The Falcons' three runs in the fifth gave them a 6-5 lead, but the Hawks answered with a run on a single by Schirmer and two more scoring on passed balls. They added an insurance run in the sixth.
"It was a nail-biter of a game," Bronstad acknowledged. "The bats weren't as great as we hoped, but Gracie pitched well and our defense played well."
Every regular in the lineup had one hit.
The Falcons finished with 10 hits off Knobloch, who recorded 13 strikeouts.
• vs. Remsen St. Mary's
To begin the week, H-M-S was out-hit and outscored during an 11-2 loss to Remsen St. Mary's (1A No. 8) on June 12 at Remsen.
After scoring a run in the first inning, St. Mary's broke the game open with six runs in the second. They also scored twice in both the fifth and sixth innings.
Knobloch pitched six innings, allowing 10 hits while striking out seven.
"They hit well even though Gracie pitched well on the mound," Bronstad said.
The Hawks scored their runs in the sixth inning on singles by Knobloch and Murphy.
Murphy contributed two hits while Ebel and Knobloch each had one.
• vs. Emmetsburg
A big scoring outburst propelled Emmetsburg past H-M-S, 10-0, on June 13 at Emmetsburg.
The E-Hawks took a 1-0 lead in the first inning and sent 12 batters to the plate in the second when they scored seven runs. They closed out the game with two runs in the sixth.
H-M-S stranded seven base runners, including one at third base three times. Ebel had two hits, and Grover and Knobloch each had one.
Schirmer was the losing pitcher. She allowed 10 hits, walked 11 and struck out three.
"Kinsey worked hard on the mound. Defensively we played well," Bronstad said.
The Hawks (10-9, 4-4) will play in the Okoboji tournament on June 24, take on South O'Brien in a varsity doubleheader at Paullina on June 26, host GT/RA on June 27, and play at Trinity Christian on June 28 for the final regular season game.
