Lady Bulldogs open softball season with win over Prairie Farm, loss to Somerset
By Cara L. Dempski
BOYCEVILLE — The Boyceville softball team learned a valuable lesson in its first game of the season: a win is still a win, even if it is not a particularly pretty one.
The Bulldogs’ stepped onto their home field at Pafko Park on March 28 for a non-conference contest against the Prairie Farm Panthers. They stepped back off seven innings later after a stellar performance from freshman pitcher Tyra Kostman and a 2-1 win.
Boyceville hosted Somerset on March 30. Coach Jamie Olson said his team played well the first four innings, but fell apart in the latter frames to record a 9-3 loss to the Spartans.
They then hosted Clear Lake for a scrimmage April 3.
The Bulldogs have a 1-1 record after their first week on the field. They will hit the road to Durand April 6 before welcoming Colfax to Pafko Park April 10. They will play another home match-up April 13 against Elmwood.
Prairie Farm
Boyceville’s head softball coach Jamie Olson could not help but be proud of his freshman pitcher in her high school debut.
“Tyra Kostman pitched a solid game for her first career start,” Olson explained. “She gave up just four hits, struck out five, and walked just one batter. For being a freshman, she showed great poise and confidence.”
Olson had hoped for a better defensive outing, and would like to see his team improve its communication and hustle, especially after the Panthers picked up their first run in the top of the first.
He noted the Boyceville hitters struggled at the plate, but he was happy with recording only one strike-out.
Senior Brooklyn Hellmann is credited with two RBIs after sending McKenna Weber home in the bottom of the second, and Amber Retzloff all the way around in the fourth. Weber is also credited with the Bulldogs’ lone stolen base.
Hellmann, Retzloff and Madysn Riek each picked up two hits in three at-bats, while senior Morgan Kuhn nabbed a hit in three trips to the plate. Sophomore Jaida Peterson proved effective at second base and served as the team’s defensive anchor.
PRAIRIE FARM 1, BOYCEVILLE 2
Prairie Farm…………1 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 1
Boyceville……………0 1 0 1 0 0 0 — 2
SENIOR shortstop Madysn Riek made a leaping catch for an out during the March 28 softball game against Prairie Farm. Teammate and second baseman Jaida Peterson watched the play. —photo by Shawn DeWitt
Somerset
The Spartans sense of direction may be a bit off but their softball acumen seems to be spot on.
Somerset mistakenly traveled to Durand last Thursday only to discover that its game was, in fact, suppose to be played in Boyceville against the Bulldogs. The Spartans did eventually arrive at Pafko Park, albeit a bit late, for the March 30 non-conference contest. It proved to be a close affair through four innings but that’s when things went south for the home team.
Coach Olson said the Bulldogs played well enough to win through the first four frames, but fell apart in the last three innings.
“(We made) too many mental mistakes overall, and you can’t have that when you’re playing a quality team,” Olson explained. “We struggled covering bases on force-outs, and also had two base-running blunders that took us out of big innings.”
The Lady Bulldogs struggled indeed, as they watched the Spartans score nine runs over four innings, while recording only one run in the fourth and two more in the seventh to score three runs of their own.
Senior Kayla Hoff put the Boyceville ladies on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth when she put a ringer out of reach of the Somerset defenders to make it all the way home. Her classmate, Morgan Kuhn, drove in Amber Retzloff and Brooklyn Hellmann late in the seventh for two more runs, but Somerset had already done its damage.
The Spartans had three hitters earned two runs each (Grace Bauer, Rachel Germain and Brooke Beuthling) to lead the team’s offensive drive.
SOMERSET 9, BOYCEVILLE 3
Somerset…………….0 2 0 1 3 0 3 — 9
Boyceville……………0 0 0 1 0 0 2 — 3