Lady Mounders win five to cap perfect week on the softball field

by Samuel Ripp

The Elk Mound softball team went a perfect five-for-five this past week to stay unbeaten and atop the Large Dunn-St. Croix standing standings.

Elk Mound improved to 8-0 in conference and 15-4 overall.

The Mounders only had one close game in that span with a one-run victory against Plum City last Monday, May 2.

Elk Mound followed that with a 5-1 non-conference home win over Eau Claire Immanuel on Tuesday, May 3; an 11-1 triumph over the visiting Boyceville Bulldogs on Thursday, May 5; and a  10-0 shutout of Augusta and an 11-1 win over Fall Creek in a Saturday, May 7 tournament in Fall Creek

The Lady Mounders schedule will remain busy as they have five more contests over the next week.  They hosted Durand on Monday, May 9 and Independence/Gilmanton on May 10. The girls will then travel to Mondovi for a Thursday, May 12 contest before returning home to host Bloomer on Friday, May 13 and rival Colfax on Monday, May 16.

Plum City

The Elk Mound softball team hosted Plum City on Monday, May 2 and emerged with a close 9-8 victory over the Blue Devils.

Elk Mound bounced back nicely after getting shut out against Baldwin-Woodville a few days earlier by scoring nine runs in the victory on Monday.

The game, however, did not get off to a great start for the Lady Mounders as they gave up five runs in the top of the first inning.

Plum City batted around in that inning, but Elk Mound found a way to claw back in the bottom half of the inning. The Lady Mounders scored four runs on four hits and were only down one after a full inning of play.

It was sophomore Allison Lindquist with the big bat in the inning as she hit a two-run double and later came around to score.

Elk Mound snagged it’s first lead of the game in the third inning with two more runs coming home to score with another RBI coming from Lindquist.

Plum City scored a run in the top of the fourth inning to knot the game.

Elk Mound would take the lead for good in the fifth inning thanks to solo home runs by junior Karie Jo Nigon and Lindquist.

The Lady Mounders tacked on one more insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning, which ended up being a huge run and it was a sac fly by Nigon, bringing home junior Lauren Scharlau.

Plum City made the game interesting in the top of the seventh by scoring two to make it a one-run game, but the Lady Mounders got a ground out to end the game.

Senior Abbey Olsen threw a complete game and picked up the win despite giving up eight runs. She gave up eleven hits but had nine strikeouts on the afternoon.

The Lady Mounders collected thirteen hits that provided a lot of runs to back Olsen up on the mound. Collecting hits for Elk Mound were: Scharlau with two, Nigon with three, junior Emily Ausman with two, Lindquist with three, senior Jade Sorenson, freshman Abby Curry, and Elizabeth Bauer.

With the nine runs, eight RBIs were handed to Elk Mound and adding to their season totals were Nigon with two, Ausman, Lindquist with four, and Sorenson.

Eau Claire Immanuel

The Lancer of Immanuel Lutheran in Eau Claire were the next to fall to the Lady Mounders. Elk Mound won the Tuesday, May 3 contest played on its home field by a score of 5-1 in seven innings.

Coming off a win the night before at home, the Lady Mounders made it back-to-back wins on Tuesday. Elk Mound would start the game off fast as they are accustomed to this year.

It jumped out to a two-run lead in the first inning of play and would hold the lead the entire game. Eau Claire Immanuel cut it to a one-run lead in the fourth, but could not find anymore offense.

The Lady Mounders put the game away for good in the bottom of the fifth inning by scoring three more runs to make the lead four.

On the mound for Elk Mound was junior Karie Jo Nigon who picked up the win. Nigon pitched a complete game and only allowed one run on three hits, struck out five and walked three girls.

The offense could only provide six hits, but it was plenty with Nigon throwing a really good game. Collecting hits for the Lady Mounders included: junior Elizabeth Bauer, sophomore Madysen Borofka, Nigon with three, and senior Abbey Olsen.

Out of the six hits, Nigon and Olsen were the only ones that connected for extra bases as they each hit a double.

On the five runs that were scored only three came from RBIs and they all belonged to Karie Jo Nigon who did it on the mound and with the bat. This was her game to be played.

Elk Mound was also patient at the plate as it drew three walks on the afternoon to help its cause.

Boyceville

The Mounders had their way with the Boyceville Bulldogs as it won its Thursday, May 5 home match by a score of 11-1 in six innings.

The Lady Mounders continued to roll through the regular season with another easy win to keep their winning streak going.

They got off to another fast start like they do in so many games, by scoring five right away in the bottom of the first inning.

They continued to add to that lead in the second by scoring two more. The game was already in their hands, but they kept the runs coming by plating two more in the fourth.

The Lady Bulldogs would finally crack the scoreboard by scoring one in the top of the sixth.

Elk Mound would cut the game short by an inning, by adding two more runs in the bottom half for a 11-1 win.

On the mound for Elk Mound was senior pitcher Abbey Olsen. Olsen threw a complete game while allowing only one run on three hits. She did not walk anyone and struck out nine during six innings.

The Lady Mounders produced eleven runs on twelve hits. Collecting hits for Elk Mound included: junior Elizabeth Bauer, senior Krystal Nigon, senior Hannah Brunner, junior Karie Jo Nigon, junior Lauren Scharlau with two, Olsen, sophomore Allison Lindquist with three, and junior Emily Ausman with two.

Out of the eleven runs, only five were collected by RBIs. All five RBIs went to Allison Lindquist who finished the day 3 for 4 with five RBIs and a home run.

Fall Creek Tournament

The Elk Mound softball team played two games on Saturday, May 7 in Fall Creek and won both games against Augusta and Fall Creek. They beat Fall Creek in game two by a score of 11-1.

The Mounders opened the tournament against Augusta and earned a 10-0 shut out victory.

Elk Mound made quick work out of Augusta as it beat the Beavers in five innings.

On the mound for Elk Mound was senior Abbey Olsen who picked up the win on the afternoon pitching a complete game shutout. Olsen only allowed two hits on the day and struck out seven. Olsen also helped herself out at the plate by going 1-3 with a run scored.

Elk Mound has been known to score early and often and they did just that in this game.

Elk Mound started out by scoring one right away in the top of the first inning. The Mounders then pushed four more across in the third inning to extend their lead. Already up by five, they scored three more in the fourth and to finish the game off early, they added two in the top of the fifth to make it ten.

The Lady Mounders only had eight hits on the afternoon, but it was more than enough offense to get the win. Adding to their hit total for the year was: sophomore Madysen Borofka, senior Krystal Nigon, junior Karie Jo Nigon with two, Olsen, sophomore Allison Lindquist with two including a double and a home run, and senior Jade Sorenson.

Elk Mound also had five walks on the afternoon to provide base runners for their hitters to bring home to score. Collecting RBIs during the game included: Borofka, Krystal Nigon, Lindquist with two, and freshman Abby Curry.

The Lady Mounders finished the day against host Fall Creek and again came away with a ten-run win as it dumped the Crickets 11-1 in five.

Elk Mound was led by senior pitcher Abbey Olsen who threw a complete game against Fall Creek.

Olsen allowed one run on four hits and struck out four on the afternoon. Olsen pitched both games on the day and won both of them. She also helped herself out at the plate by going 2-4 with an RBI and a run, while also drawing a walk.

The Lady Mounders continued to start games off hot when they put up five runs in the top of the first to give them the early lead.

Elk Mound would score in each of the five innings that were played as it added another three runs in the second inning. In innings three through five, the Mounders scored one run an inning.

Fall Creek lone score came in the bottom of the fourth inning.

The Lady Mounders tallied nine hits for their eleven runs while also taking nine walks to provide base runners. Collecting hits for the Lady Mounders included: junior Karie Jo Nigon with two including a double, junior Kirstin Dutzle, Olsen with two including a double, sophomore Allison Lindquist with three, and freshman Abby Curry.

Out of the eleven runs Elk Mound scored, six of them came from RBIs and they came off of the bats of: junior Elizabeth Bauer with a sac fly, sophomore Madysen Borofka, Olsen, Lindquist with two, and Curry.

A couple of speedy base runners stole a base during the game on Saturday, junior Emily Ausman and Allison Lindquist each stole one base.