Elk Mound softball nabs regional win against Panthers, nipped by Railroaders

By Cara L. Dempski

According to the late, great Yankees baseball player Yogi Berra, “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.”

How very true, Mr. Berra.

Especially with a softball team like the 2017 Mounders, who can go down, but should never be counted out. At least, not until they are well and truly out.

At least, that is what the team proved at home May 24 against Durand in the team’s 2017 Division 3 regional opener. The Mounders were down 2-0 heading into the fourth inning, but as has so often happened this season, the Elk Mound girls found a way to pull out a 5-3 win in the end.

The victory sent the Lady Mounders to Altoona May 26 for a meeting with the second-seeded Railroaders. The Elk Mound ladies were the first on the scoreboard with three runs, but ultimately could not contain the Railroaders, ending their season with a 5-3 loss in the regional final.

In a post to the social media site Facebook the day after the game, head coach Samantha Weix wrote “The chemistry these girls had this season was unlike anything I have ever seen before. They enjoyed each other’s company on and off the field, and created so many fun memories.”

Durand

The third time the Panthers faced Elk Mound this season, they were not going to make things easy.

The Durand softball squad traveled to the Mounders’ home field May 24 for their first Division 3 regional game this season, and with an eye on defeating Elk Mound for the first time in 2017.

For one inning, they succeeded.

“Durand played a great game,” Elk Mound coach Samantha Weix noted. “They made some big defensive plays, and they were aggressive on offense.”

The Mounders and Panthers held each other scoreless until the third, when a pair of questionable calls of “safe” from the umpire allowed the Durand ladies to set up a pair of scoring runs to lead 2-0. But the Mounders would not give in easily.

The home squad scored in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to take a 5-2 lead before giving up one run to the Panthers in the seventh. Elk Mound tightened its defense to get the final out of the game to go out on top 5-3.

The questionable calls came in the top of the third inning when Reice Prissel was called safe at first, and Hannah Prissel called safe at second, despite Elk Mound first-base player Lauren Scharlau clearly having the ball in her glove and her foot on base a split second before Reice’s foot hit it. She then attempted to turn the play to catch Hannah at second, but both Panthers were called safe.

The calls set up both Prissels for a mad dash back to home plate after being batted in by Kelci Brion and Brook Carothers. Elk Mound could not score in the bottom half of the inning, but managed to keep the Panthers in check in the top of the fourth.

The Lady Mounders finally got on the board in the bottom of the fourth after Emily Ausman clocked a double and Hailey Blaskowski a single with two outs on the board. Sophie Cedarblade took a walk to load the bases, and then Kirstin Dutzle slapped a line-drive single that sent Ausman and Blaskowski around to knot the score at 2 when Durand committed a short series of fielding errors.

Elk Mound took the 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth when Scharlau walked home after hitting a single to get on base. Karie Jo Nigon followed her with another single, before Claire Hallum and Blaskowski both took bases on balls.

The home squad sent Dutzle and Scharlau home to score again in the sixth to give the Mounders a 5-2 lead going into the seventh inning. Sydney Wekkin made it safely to first base for Durand, was pushed to second by Kelci Brion, and then pushed home on a fielding error for one more run.

But, Elk Mound had the final say when it struck Carothers out swinging to end the game ahead 5-3.

Nigon accounted for a pair of RBIs in the game, while Dutzle and Blaskowski batted in one runner each. Borofka and Ausman both recorded doubles.

The Mounders overcame five fielding errors by outhitting the Panthers 12 to 6 to get the hard-earned victory.

First team all-conference selection Clare Hallum pitched a complete game, going seven innings and hurling the ball 96 times for five hits, three runs, and four strikeouts to pick up a win

DURAND 3, ELK MOUND 5
Elk Mound…..0  0  0  2  1  2  0 — 5
Durand………..0  0  2  0  0  0  1 — 3

Altoona

You know your young team may be on to something when you are at a regional championship game and the parents and fans of the opposition are watching you warm up and verbally appreciative of the level of defense on display.

In short: the Altoona parents were definitely worried as they watched Elk Mound warm up at Cinder City Park May 26.

Maybe they were right to be worried, as the Mounders effectively kept the Lady Rails from scoring for four whole innings. But Elk Mound was not able to get on the board itself until the third, which should have caused a few moments of pause for the Lady Mounders too.

In the end, the older, slightly more experience Railroaders won the day after scoring a pair of runs in the fourth and three more in the fifth – despite a controversial call regarding two Altoona players standing on third base – to take the regional championship hardware on a 5-3 win over visiting Elk Mound.

The Altoona girls initially had difficulty adjusting to freshman hurler Clare Hallum’s pitching style, which led to a pair of short innings for both teams.

Elk Mound had some trouble with Railroader hurler McKenzie Triebs, but was able to master her pitch well enough by the fourth inning to take a decisive three-run lead after Allison Lindquist raced home after being batted in by a single from Hallum before Sophie Cedarblade sent home both Emily Ausman and Hallum with a line drive past the shortstop.

Altoona responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth and only one out. They could have tied the game but for a base-running error that cost them outs at third and home to end the inning.

They managed to keep the Mounders in check in the top of the sixth before picking up another three runs in the bottom half of the inning to take over the lead 5-3.

Triebs then nabbed the final three outs after seeing just four batters to take the regional championship.

Cedarblade led the team offensively with a pair of RBIs, while Hallum accounted for one runner batted in and Lindquist logged a double.

Hallum pitched six innings, striking out two while allowing 11 hits and five runs. The freshman also collected two of the Mounders six hits.

ELK MOUND 3, ALTOONA 5
Elk Mound……………0  0  0  3  0  0  0 — 3
Altoona……………….0  0  0  0  2  3  0 — 5