Things started to fizzle

A win in the first game of a doubleheader with South O'Brien was a promising start to the final week of the softball season. But Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn would then lose the next three games to fall to 12-13 overall.

A six-run lead in the first game on June 26 at Paullina provided H-M-S with enough of a margin to defeat South O'Brien, 7-5.

The Hawks struck for four runs in the first inning. Gracie Knobloch walked to drive in the first run, Abby Kunzman drove in a run on a fielder's choice and Delaney Murphy hit a two-run single. Murphy also drove in H-M-S's run in the third inning with a single.

An error and an RBI single by Alexis Grover in the fourth inning increased the Hawks' lead to 7-1.

The Wolverines chipped away at the deficit, scoring a run in the fifth inning, another in the sixth and two more in the seventh.

"Gracie pitched strong on the mound. Our bats were decent and our girls played good defense," said Hawk coach Stephanie Bronstad.

Knobloch allowed six hits, walked three and struck out 12 in the complete-game victory.

In addition to Murphy's two hits, Morgan Grooters, Kinsey Schirmer and Grover each had one.

H-M-S's early lead in Game 2 was not enough, as South O'Brien scored three late runs to earn a 6-3 win.

Two runs in the first inning put H-M-S in front, but the advantage didn't last long as South O'Brien scored three runs in the third. After the Hawks tied the game in the fifth, the Wolverines retook the lead with a run in the fifth and added two runs in the sixth.

Murphy had another good game at the plate, going 3-for-3 with two RBI. Grooters was 2-for-3, and Frankie Mohni, Kunzman and Schirmer each had one hit.

Kamryn Ebel was the losing pitcher. She gave up four hits, walked nine and struck out three.

• vs. GT/RA

Consistent scoring by Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire was too much for H-M-S to overcome in a 15-5 loss, on June 27 at Ruthven.

The teams traded leads in the first two innings. Mohni singled and scored on an error in the first inning and GT/RA answered with two runs. Run-scoring singles by Schirmer and Ebel, and a groundout by Mohni in the second inning put H-M-S back in front.

After scoring a run in the second, the Titans took the lead for good with two runs in the third and broke the game open with eight runs in the fourth. They added two runs in the fifth to close out the game.

H-M-S scored its final run in the fourth on a single by Knobloch.

Ebel finished with two hits, while Addy Sheeler, Grooters, Knobloch, Mohni, Murphy and Schirmer each had one.

Schirmer pitched 3-1/3 innings and took the loss. She allowed six hits and 12 runs, and walked six. Ebel allowed three hits and four runs, and walked two.

"We hit the ball well and defensively played well, but just couldn't pull it off," Bronstad said.

• vs. Trinity Christian

Another fast start did not guarantee success for H-M-S, as Trinity Christian overcame an early deficit to earn a convincing 11-3 win on June 28 at Hull.

After loading the bases in the first inning, the Hawks took a three-run lead on a walk to Kunzman and a two-run single by Murphy.

However, that was the extent of the offense, as H-M-S had just three baserunners the rest of the game. Knobloch was hit by a pitch in the third inning, Ebel singled in the fifth and Schirmer singled in the seventh. Mohni's first-inning single was the Hawks' only other hit.

Trinity Christian tied the game in the second inning, took the lead with six runs in the third and added two runs in the sixth.

"The bats were hot at the start of the game, and everything started to fizzle and we couldn't get it back," Bronstad acknowledged. "Gracie stayed strong on the mound while Trinity hit the ball hard, but defensively we rattled."

Knobloch surrendered eight hits, walked two and struck out 12 in the loss.

H-M-S fell into a tie for fourth place in the War Eagle Conference with a 5-5 record.