EM softball trounces Eagles, Hilltoppers; slugs out win over Bulldogs

By Cara L. Dempski

A win is a win, especially if it only takes five innings to get it.

The Mounder girls took their strong offense to the Pepin/Alma Eagles April 10 and came away after five innings at the helm of a 24-3 smack down that carried over into Elk Mound’s home match-up against Glenwood City the following day.

The Hilltoppers struggled defensively and offensively, falling to the home team 14-3 to give Elk Mound a 3-0 record in the Dunn-St. Croix as it faced down a tough match-up in Boyceville April 13.

The Bulldogs were not going to make it easy for Elk Mound, but the orange and black ground down the Boyceville defense over seven innings to cop the 7-2 win.

With four straight wins, Elk Mound has improved its overall record to 5-2 and is 4-0 in the D-SC.

The Lady Mounders hosted the only other unbeaten conference team, Durand, April 18 before welcoming Colfax to their home field April 20. The Mounders are scheduled to take on LaCrosse Aquinas April 22 in Arcadia, and will play a home game against Durand April 24.

Pepin/Alma

There is only one comment to make about a game score of 24-3: ouch.

Elk Mound’s bats were on fire April 10 when they headed to Alma for a matchup with the cooperative team with Pepin. The Mounders got on the board with three runs in the first, before putting up nine in the second, seven in the third, and five in the fourth.

In contrast, the Eagles were scoreless until getting one run in the third, and two more in the fourth.

Sophie Cedarblade and Morgan Radtke each logged five RBIs, Clare Hallum, Karie Jo Nigon, and Lauren Scharlau each picked up a pair of RBIs. Hailey Blaskowski, Allison Lindquist, Qwynn Tyman and Emily Ausman contributed one more each.

Clare Hallum went all five innings and earned four strikeouts over 66 pitches.

ELK MOUND 24, PEPIN/ALMA 3
Elk Mound…………………3  9  7  5  0 — 24
Pepin/Alma………………….0  0  1  2  0 — 3

Glenwood City

The Mounders and Hilltoppers must have been testing each other the first inning of their April 11 game, because no one scored until the second.

The Glenwood City squad got on the board with a run in the top of the second, but Elk Mound responded in the bottom of the second with eight runs of their own. If that was not enough, the Mounders held the Lady Toppers scoreless in the third and scored another six runs in the bottom half of the inning.

The Toppers picked up another two runs in the fourth, but the damage was already done and the game ended at the end of the fifth with a score of 14-3.

Freshman Sophie Cedarblade accounted for a trio of runs batted in, while Clare Hallum, Hailey Blaskowski and Allison Lindquist each logged two. Madysen Borofka, Karie Jo Nigon and Lauren Scharlau each drove in one run apiece.

Hallum gave up three runs from the circle, but countered those with a trio of strikeouts.

GLENWOOD CITY 3, ELK MOUND 14
Glenwood City……………0  1  0  2  0 —   3
Elk Mound………………….0  8  6  0  0 — 14

Boyceville

Between Morgan Radtke drilling a home run, and catcher Allison Lindquist drilling Boyceville pitcher Tyra Kostman in the shin with a line drive, the softball game at Boyceville on April 13 was an interesting one.

The Mounders put up four runs in the first inning, and then two in the second. Boyceville then held Elk Mound scoreless until the seventh, when sophomore Morgan Radtke recorded a home run to left center that pushed the Mounders up to a 7-4 lead.

The Bulldogs chalked up a pair of runs in the first, but then pulled within spitting distance of the Mounders in the sixth, and managed to load the bases in the seventh when Tori Kostman struck out on three perfect pitches from Elk Mound’s Karie Jo Nigon to end the game.

“It was an all-around team effort, and I’m proud of the girls being able to hang on for the win,” coach Weix said. “It was a great game played by both teams.”

The Mounder offense was not as strong as Weix likes to see it, but she noted the girls had the chance to work some small ball, moving runners into scoring position more often than not. It is to Boyceville’s credit that Elk Mound left runners stranded on second and third in two straight innings. Weix said she would like the team to get better at bringing in those runs.

Defensively, the Mounders made some big plays. Radtke snagged two fly balls from the center gap for crucial outs, and Lauren Scharlau grabbed a pair of outs at first on near-miss catches.

“Had we not played the solid defense we did, the game outcome would have been very different,” Weix noted.

Clare Hallum pitched six and one-third innings and allowed four runs while picking up two strikeouts, but Weix put Nigon in for the final two outs due to the high-pressure situation presented by loaded bases. The senior is credited with one strikeout, and one fly out.

Nigon and Hailey Blaskowski are credited with a pair of RBIs each, while Sophie Cedarblade and Radtke each earned a single run batted in.

ELK MOUND 7, BOYCEVILLE 4
Elk Mound……………4  2  0  0  0  0  1 — 7
Boyceville…………….2  0  0  0  0  2  0 — 4