Lady Toppers 0-3 after week of doubleheaders; Regionals on Thursday

By Kelsie Hoitomt

The Glenwood City softball team had a trio of games with Elk Mound last Tuesday, May 7, then  Spring Valley on Thursday and lastly on Monday night at home against Elmwood/Plum City.

Crushed by Mounders

The Mounders were second place finishers in the conference last season and that showed as they defeated the Toppers 16-1 and 17-2.

Kenzie Kruse scored the Toppers only run in the first game after hitting a single and then advancing home on an RBI from Mikaela Voeltz in the third inning.

The Mounders on the other hand took a liking to pitcher Leslie Ludtke as they scored six runs in the second inning, five in the third and five in the fourth before the game ended.

The field became quiet and with spirits down, the Toppers were not able to get the bats rolling in the second game either. However, they did manage to have six hits compared to the four in the first game with two runners crossing the plate.

Megan Samens and Bailey Britton each scored for the Hilltoppers in the second game after an RBI from Samens and Nikki Gabbert.

Rain delay in SV

The doubleheader against the Spring Valley Cardinals was delayed due to the rain throughout the day last Thursday. The first game was played with the Cardinals winning 11-6 and then the second game was made up on Saturday with Toppers losing 7-0.

The Toppers had some big hits in the first game despite the constant badgering of the rain and cold.

Voeltz crossed the plate first for the team in the first inning and then it was Taylor Brittain, Kruse and Voeltz again in the second inning. Kruse hit a double and Voeltz followed with another hit to left field for a triple. It would again be Kruse and Voeltz in the fourth inning that would score their final two runs of the game with the help of Samens and Gabbert with the RBI’s

Despite the 8-5 loss, the Toppers started off strong in the second game with a 2-0 lead going into the third inning after Voeltz scored in the first and then hit a RBI double in the second to bring Brittain home.

The Toppers scored two additional runs in the third inning from Perkins and Gabbert, but the Cardinals got the bats heated up with four runs scored in the third inning to tie the game. Spring Valley would continue to score runs in the fourth for an 8-4 lead.

Leslie Ludtke scored the final run for the Toppers in the fifth inning after hitting a double and then advancing to third on a double by Hannah Ludtke and then finally crossed home plate on an RBI from Britton.

Swept by Raiders

It was another rough night of ball at home against the Elmwood/Plum City Raiders with a 7-1 loss the first game followed by a 9-0 loss in the second.

Raider pitcher, McKayla Brunner had eight strikeouts against the Toppers in the first game with two hits given up from Voeltz and Leslie Ludtke and the one run scored from Brittain after an RBI from Kruse in the fifth.

Regardless of the zero runs, the Toppers were able to get a better feel for Brunner’s pitches in the second game with eight hits and just one strikeout. They were not able to string anything together to collect runs.

The Raiders earned the win in the fourth inning after defensive errors allowed seven runs to cross the plate for the 9-0 final.

The Toppers ended their conference season with another doubleheader on Tuesday, May 14 against Colfax. They will play in the first round of Regionals at Casper Park against McDonell-Central on Thursday, May 16 at 5:00 p.m.