Mounder softball nips Mondovi, clips Cards for consecutive conference wins
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The Elk Mound softball team got off to a bit of a slow start as it went just 2-3 to open the season including a 1-2 mark in Dunn-St. Croix play.
But, that changed last week when it won back-to-back contests, both in conference play, for the first time this season to move above the .500 mark.
The Lady Mounders pulled off a heart-stopping 3-2 win over defending conference champion Mondovi at home Monday, April 15 and followed it up three days later with a 13-3 road victory in Spring Valley.
Those consecutive conference triumphs have Elk Mound at 3-2 in league and 4-3 in all games.
If Mother Nature cooperates, the Mounders will have three conference games this week. They hosted Durand-Arkansaw Tuesday, travel to Elmwood Thursday to play the Wolves of Elmwood-Plum City and then head to Durand the following day to face the Panthers for the second time in three days. Elk Mound comes back home next Monday, April 29 to welcome the once-beaten Bulldogs from Boyceville.
Mondovi
If Elk Mound wanted to stay in the conference’s softball title chase, they needed a win after losing consecutive D-SC games to Boyceville and rival Colfax.
The Mounders would find that much needed victory versus defending champ Mondovi.
Elk Mound scored single runs in the bottom half of the second, third and fourth innings for a 3-0 advantage and then held off a late rally that saw the Buffaloes score twice in the sixth for the one-run win in the Monday, April 15 game played on the Mounders’ home diamond.
Elk Mound broke the scoreless deadlock in the second inning when Elisabeth Beskow led off the Mounders’ half with a single to right field. Beskow then took second on a passed ball, went to third on an error and came home to score on a Jaidynn Sarauer sacrifice back to the Buffalo pitcher, Morghan Ashwell.
The Mounders made it 2-0 in the third. With two outs, Kendra Garnett belted a double and scored on the next at bat when Hailey Meyer sent a single into center field.
Elk Mound’s third and final run, which proved to be the game winner, came in the bottom of the third frame. Alexis Joachim knocked a one-out looper to center for a hit. After Sarauer struck out, Alexandra Baskin smashed a two-out triple to bring Joachim to the plate for a 3-0 Mounder lead.
The contest remained that way until Mondovi plated two runs in the top of sixth. With a runner on second, the Buffs looked to tie the game but Meyer struck out her counterpart, Morghan Ashwell, to preserve the led and the eventual 3-2 win.
Meyer earned the pitching win as she allowed just the two runs on four hits, struck out a season-high 14 batters and allowed only one walk in seven innings inside the throwing circle. Ashwell took the loss for Mondovi after surrendering three runs on eight hits and finished with seven Ks.
The Mounders finished with a 7 to 4 advantage in hits. Meyer helped out her own cause with two hits in three at bats with an RBI and a stolen base. Baskin finished with the RBI triple and Garnett had a double and scored a run.
Spring Valley
The Spring Valley Cardinals actually led 1-0 after two innings of play on their home field Thursday, April 18.
The Mounder offense, however, began to stir in the top of the third when it plated a run to knot the game.
Elk Mound then blew the game open in the next two innings, scoring three runs in the fourth and five in the fifth frame for a 9-3 lead. The visitors enjoyed a four-run seventh to win 13-3.
Elk Mound collected 13 hits compared to six by Spring Valley.
Kendra Garnett had an outstanding game at the plate going 3-for-5 for the Mounders with a home run, four RBIs and a two runs scored. Hailey Meyer also tallied three hits in five at bats with an RBI. Jaidynn Sarauer finished 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs, three runs scored and stole two bases. Ellie Schiszik also finished the game with a pair of hits in four plate appearances, stole three bases and scored a run. Alexandria Solberg’s lone hit went for a double.
Meyer threw all seven innings for the Mounders to pick up the win. She scattered five hits and walked five which resulted in three Cardinal runs and tallied four strike outs.