Mounder softball tramples trio of D-SC foes; blanked by Bloomer
By Cara L. Dempski
With four games in five days, it proved to be a busy and somewhat successful week for the Lady Mounders.
Elk Mound’s softball team went 3-1 during that span, pummeling a trio of conference foes by double digits to remain unbeaten in Dunn-St. Croix play before being nipped by the state-ranked Bloomer Blackhawks.
The Mounders started last week’s action with an April 24 home contest against the Mondovi Buffaloes, coming out a 10-0 shut out victory. The following day, Elk Mound traveled southwest to Plum City and again came out with a big win as they knocked off the Blue Devils, 24-8, in a six-inning contest on April 25.
The Elk Mound team took a breather on Wednesday before hosting Spring Valley April 27. The Mounders again came up big, posting a 17-5 finish to remain undefeated in the Dunn-St. Croix.
The team capped a long week with a short trip to Bloomer for a non-conference. The Mounders were able to hold the Blackhawks in check defensively until the fourth inning, when Bloomer scored once. A second run followed in the fifth as the Blackhawks, ranked third in the latest Division 3 state polls, the 2-0 victory.
Elk Mound is now 11-4 overall and has a Dunn-St. Croix record of 9-0. The Mounders now enjoy a two-game led over second-place Durand after the Panthers were upset 7-4 at home by Glenwood City last Thursday.
The girls were scheduled for to play in Elmwood Monday but a steady rainfall postponed the contest until May 12. They also had a home game slated against Pepin/Alma yesterday (May 2). The Mounders will go to Glenwood City Thursday and Fall Creek May 6, and will welcome Boyceville to their home field next Monday, May 8.
Mondovi
The Mounders found ways around Mondovi’s defense in their April 24 meeting, and the result was a 10-0 home win to keep their Dunn-St. Croix record unblemished.
Elk Mound got on the board early with a three-run first, another run in the second, and then put up four more runs on the board in the fourth before scoring two more times in the sixth to end the game on WIAA’s 10-run rule.
Junior catcher Allison Lindquist cracked a home run and drove in five runners on three hits to lead the Mounder offense, while Senior Emily Ausman smashed a double and recorded a pair of RBIs. Lauren Scharlau logged two hits in four trips to the plate including a double, and was credited with an RBI.
Karie Jo Nigon and Morgan Radtke completed the Elk Mound offense with one run batted in each.
Defensively, the Mounders held the Buffaloes scoreless behind the efforts of freshman pitcher Clare Hallum. The first-year player allowed just three hits, struck out three batters, and had no walks.
MONDOVI 0, ELK MOUND 10
Mondovi…………………0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0
Elk Mound………………3 1 0 4 0 2 — 10
Plum City
It was rainy and cold, but that is not always a good enough reason to postpone a softball game.
The Mounders and Blue Devils played six innings April 25 in a soaking rain that did not seem to cool off Elk Mound’s bats.
The team in orange and black walked away with a 24-8 win to move to 8-0 in the DSC.
Elk Mound once again got on the scoreboard early by chalking up two runs in the first inning. The team held the Blue Devils scoreless to end the first ahead 2-0.
Neither team scored in the second, but then the Mounders found their offensive stride in the third.
The EM squad drove in 11 runs to take a 13-0 lead.
Plum City got on the scoreboard with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the third.
But the Mounders scored another four runs in the top half of the next inning.
Again, Plum City responded and scored three runs of its own to make the score 17-5 after four frames.
Elk Mound’s offense was shut out in the top half of the fifth, and Plum City pushed in another three to cut their deficit to nine at 17-8.
The Mounder bats, however, sprung back to life in the sixth, and they pounded in seven more runs to up their advantage to 16 runs.
The contest came to an end when the Blue Devils failed to score in the bottom half of the sixth, giving the Mounders the 24-8 victory.
Kirstin Dutzle and Allison Lindquist led the team in RBIs, with each taking credit for six runners batted in. Senior Emily Ausman batted in four runners, Karie Jo Nigon sent home two, and Clare Hallum and Sophie Cedarblade are credited with one RBI apiece.
The Mounders girls collected 16 hits including six extra based raps. Lindquist, who went 4-for-5 at the plate, knocked a pair of home runs, and Ausman and Dutzle were also each credited with a home run. Ausman finished with three hits while Dutzle, Madysen Borofka, Hallum and Nigon each had a pair.
Hallum pitched two and two-thirds innings surrendering three hits with two strikeouts. Nigon worked in the circle for three and one-third innings to pick up the win and gave up five runs on just two hits and had two strikeouts.
ELK MOUND 24, PLUM CITY 8
Elk Mound…………….2 0 11 4 0 7 — 24
Plum City………………0 0 2 3 3 0 — 8
Spring Valley
Two days after its 16-run over Plum City, Elk Mound returned home Thursday and took care of business and Spring Valley in just five innings.
The Mounders bats were once again on fire as it outslugged the Lady Cardinals 14 to 8 to win the April 27 contest by a 17-5 count that kept them undefeated atop the Dunn-St. Croix leaderboard.
As it had in their previous two conference contests, the Mounders got on the board early, plating four runs in the first, seven in the second and three runs in both the third and fourth innings.
Elk Mound led 14-0 before Spring Valley finally scored a pair of runs in the fourth, and added three more in the fifth, but it was not enough to extend the game past five innings due to the 10-run rule.
Elk Mound tallied 15 RBIs Allison Lindquist led the Mounders with five runs batted, Hailey Blaskowski and Clare Hallum tied with three RBIs apiece, Karie Jo Nigon was credited with a pair of runners sent home, and Kirstin Dutzle and Sophie Cedarblade recorded one RBI each.
Cedarblade, Blaskowski and Madysen Borofka were credited with doubles, Dutzle with a triple, and Lindquist with another home run.
Nigon led the hit parade with three in four plate appearances and had scored three runs. Hallum, Blaskowski and Lindquist each had two hits.
Elk Mound switched things up a bit in pitching, with Sophie Cedarblade in the circle against Spring Valley. The freshman went all five innings and allowed eight hits and five runs while striking out two batters.
SPRING VALLEY 5, ELK MOUND 17
Spring Valley………………0 0 0 2 3 — 5
Elk Mound…………………4 7 3 3 0 — 17
Bloomer
The red-hot Mounders were on a three-game winning streak when they headed to Bloomer for a non-conference tilt last Friday, April 28.
Elk Mound who had averaged 17 runs and over 12 hits per game in those three consecutive wins, were limited to just three hits and no runs against Bloomer.
The a game of limited offense, the third-ranked Blackhawks made most of their six hits and opportunities to post a close 2-0 win over the visiting Mounders.
Clare Hallum led the Mounders’ usual stout defense, allowing only six hits and a pair of runs for an ERA of 2.33.
Madysen Borofka, Karie Jo Nigon and Lauren Scharlau were the only Elk Mound players credited with hits in the game.
Bloomer scored single runs in the fourth and fifth innings for the victory as Aliya Seibel went all seven innings on the mound to earn the shut out and win for the Blackhawks.
ELK MOUND 0, BLOOMER 2
Elk Mound……………0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0
Bloomer……………….0 0 0 1 1 0 0 — 2