Elk Mound softball drops game to Mustangs, blows past Raiders

By Cara L. Dempski

ELK MOUND — The Mounder ladies softball team may not have earned the W to open their second week of competition, but they have every right to be proud of their play in the game.

The Elk Mound squad welcomed Division 1 Big Rivers team Menomonie to their field April 4 and came away on the low end of a very tight 6-5 score. They then took on the Elmwood Raiders April 6.

Elk Mound blew past the Raiders, 21-5 in just four innings to pick up the W in their conference opener.

The Mounder girls took their first road trip of 2017 to Alma to take on the Pepin/Alma squad April 10. Results of the game were not available prior to printing.

Elk Mound now has a 2-2 overall record and is 1-0 in the Dunn-St. Croix. They host Boyceville April 13, and take on Durand at home April 18.

Menomonie

Bigger school be darned. Menomonie’s student body outnumbers Elk Mound’s by nearly three to one, but that did not seem to matter on the softball field.

True, the Mustangs prevailed 6-5 over the Mounders in their April 4 match-up, but the Elk Mound girls can hold their heads high knowing they have a higher concentration of field talent in their school than at Menomonie.

“We held a 4-1 lead going into the 5th when things fell apart on a few defensive errors,” coach Sam Weix said. “Combine our errors with some well timed hits from Menomonie, and just like that we were down 5-4.”

Junior Madysen Borofka banged in a pair of RBIs, while Karie Jo Nigon, Lauren Scharlau and Allison Lindquist all pushed in another three runners. Freshman Claire Hallum pitched five innings for a 4.20 ERA, while Nigon covered two innings and had an ERA of 0.00.

While the Mounders did not pull out a stellar defensive game, Weix continues to be impressed with the team’s potential.

“On the offensive side, I thought we did a nice job,” Weix explained. “We put the ball in play hard, and when I told the girls to dig deep in the bottom of the seventh, they did.”

MENOMONIE 6, ELK MOUND 5
Menomonie…….0  0  1 0  4  0  1 — 6
Elk Mound……..1  1  0  2  0  0 1 — 5

Elmwood

The Mounders held the Raiders to five runs while racking up 21 of their own in just four innings to pick up their first D-SC win this season.

Elk Mound made short work, literally, of Elmwood, winning the game in just five innings to start conference play on a positive note.

Lauren Scharlau led the Mounder offense with 4 RBIs, and a trio of runs over three at-bats. Sophie Cedarblade, Hailey Blaskowski and Allison Lindquist each drove in a trio of runners, while Madysen Borofka, Clare Hallum and Morgan Radtke batted in two runners each.

Senior Emily Ausman rounded out the team’s 20 runs batted in with a final RBI.

Karie Jo Nigon worked inside the circle for three innings, pitching a 9.33 ERA and one strikeout, while Clare Hallum picked up the other two innings with a 0.00 ERA, two batters walked, and a single strikeout.

ELK MOUND 21, ELMWOOD 5
Elk Mound………10  4  1  6  0 — 21
Elmwood…………..1  0  4  0  0 — 5