Elk Mound softball flattens Eagles and Toppers; sweeps Fall Creek tournament
By Cara L. Dempski
A perfect week on the softball field kept the Elk Mound girls unbeaten and atop the Dunn-St. Croix standings and tacked four more wins onto their season tally.
The Lady Mounders pummeled Pepin/Alma and topped Glenwood City during last week’s conference softball action before they capped the week by trashing a pair of teams including the host Crickets in the Fall Creek Tournament last Saturday.
With only two weeks left in the regular season, the Mounder softball team seems to be firing on all eight cylinders.
Elk Mound improved to 11-0 in the Dunn-St. Croix with an impressive 14-1, five-inning win at home last Tuesday, May 2 over Pepin/Alma. The Mounders took their act on the road Thursday, May 4 and stayed undefeated in conference play with a hard-fought, 7-1 win over the Hilltoppers in Glenwood City.
The Mounders finished their week with a Saturday tournament at Fall Creek that pitted them against non-conference foes Augusta and Fall Creek. They took care of the Beavers with a score of 14-2, and clobbered the Crickets 20-1 which took the team’s overall record to an impressive 15-4.
The positive outcomes combined with a strong defensive performance against third-ranked Bloomer the previous week earned Elk Mound an honorable mention in the weekly Wissports.net Division 3 poll for a second week in a row.
It will be another busy week for Elk Mound who played Boyceville at home May 8, and traveled to Durand May 9. The Mounders host Colfax this Thursday, May 11 before going to Elmwood on Friday, May 12. The Mounders are scheduled to be in Mondovi May 15 and play against Plum City at home May 16.
Pepin/Alma
It did not take Elk Mound long to build up a lead against the Eagles May 2.
The Mounders scored once in the top of the first inning before holding Pepin/Alma scoreless in the bottom. They then brought in six runners in the top of the second to give themselves a comfortable, 7-0 cushion.
Elk Mound scored another run in the third to make the score 8-0, and then another six girls scored in the fourth to tilt the scoreboard heavily in the Mounders’ favor.
The Eagles’ Kylie Brunner sent teammate Maggie Prokosch home for the team’s only score in the fifth, but the Pepin/Alma girls could not further capitalize on the short-lived offensive spark provided.
Mounders’ Clare Hallum, Karie Jo Nigon, Kirstin Dutzle and Allison Lindquist drove in two runners apiece in the game, while Sophie Cedarblade, Lauren Scharlau and Madysen Borofka each took credit for one RBI.
Dutzle, Scharlau and Hallum were each good for doubles, while Lindquist and Nigon logged home runs. Hallum, Dutzie and Lindquist each finished with a pair of hits for the Mounders who finished with ten in total.
The Elk Mound squad has found a gem of a pitcher in freshman Clare Hallum, who went five innings allowing seven hits and one run, and struck out four batters.
PLUM CITY 1, ELK MOUND 14
Plum City…………………….0 0 0 0 1 — 1
Elk Mound…………………..1 6 1 6 0 — 14
Glenwood City
The Hilltoppers put up a fight in the first four innings of their home game against Elk Mound by allowing a single run in the first inning.
But, nothing lasts forever.
The Mounders got into the offensive swing of things in the fifth inning of the May 4 game with three runs, and pushed through a two-run sixth and one-run seventh to beat the Toppers for the second time in 2017 by a score of 7-1.
IN CONTROL — Mounders’ pitcher Clare Hallum allowed just four hits and one run while pitching a complete gain in Glenwood City May 4. Hallum helped Elk Mound win the contest 7-1. —photo by Shawn DeWitt/span>
Senior Karie Jo Nigon led the team with two runs batted in and a double. Sophie Cedarblade logged an RBI, a double, and three stolen bases. Madysen Borofka and Allison Lindquist each logged one more run batted in apiece. Lauren Scharlau recorded a double in the game.
Clare Hallum pitched the complete game for a 1.00 ERA, outdueling her Glenwood City counterpart, Maggie Wallin to get the win. Hallum allowed four hits and one run while striking out seven batters.
ELK MOUND 7, GLENWOOD CITY 1
Elk Mound………..….1 0 0 0 3 2 1 — 7
Glenwood City……….0 0 0 0 0 1 0 — 1
Fall Creek Tournament
Beavers are creatures best known for their chewing abilities. Crickets are known as jumpers.
But on May 6, it was Elk Mound who chewed up the Beavers and jumped on the Crickets, defeating Augusta’s team 14-2 and Fall Creek’s 20-1 in tournament play at Fall Creek.
The Mounders’ offense was in high gear as it collected 32 hits – 17 against Fall Creek and 15 in their game with Augusta.
And the pitching was stellar as well with Karie Jo Nigon picking up a pair of hits as she allowed just a combined five hits in the two games which lasted a total of eight innings.
The Mounders took on the Augusta Beavers first, and trailed 2-1 at the end of the first inning. Elk Mound scored two in the top of the second to snag the 3-2 lead, and then three more in the third to make the score 6-2.
Both teams were scoreless in the fourth, but Elk Mound was able to make short work of the Beavers in the fifth inning when they scored another eight runs before giving the Augusta softballers one last chance at the plate. The Beavers were not able to capitalize on their final scoring opportunity and fell to the Mounders on the five-inning, 10- run rule.
Madysen Borofka led the team with four RBIs and a pair of doubles. Karie Jo Nigon pitched for one hit, a pair of runs, and six strikeouts.
Elk Mound took on Fall Creek in the final game of the tournament, beating the Crickets handily 20-1 in just three innings.
The Mounders drove in six runs in the first before taking a break in the second. The team then drove in 14 runs in the third. The Crickets only score came in the third when Fall Creek pushed only one run across home plate. But it was too little, too late as the game ended after the Mounders retired the side in the bottom of the third.
Nigon led the offense with five RBIs, a triple and a home run. Sophomore Morgan Radtke sent three runners home and took credit for a double. Sophie Cedarblade and Allison Lindquist each logged a pair of RBIs, with Cedarblade also hitting for a double.
Borofka, Clare Hallum, Lauren Scharlau, Hailey Blaskowski, Baylee Hanson and Emily Ausman also recorded one run batted in apiece. Borofka logged a pair of doubles in the game.
Cedarblade, Nigon and Lindquist each tallied three hits while Scharlau, Borofka and Radtke had two hits apiece.
Nigon pitched her second game of the day at the mound, and recorded four hits, one run, and two strikeouts.
ELK MOUND 14, AUGUSTA 2
Elk Mound…………………..1 2 3 0 8 — 14
Augusta………………………2 0 0 0 0 — 2
ELK MOUND 20, FALL CREEK 1
Elk Mound……………………….6 0 14 — 20
Fall Creek………………………..0 0 1 — 1