Washburn University softball Ichabods boosted its win streak to four games Friday with a 12-1, 6-0 sweep at Fort Hays State.
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Washburn softball posts second straight MIAA sweep
By RICK PETERSON
The Ichabods followed up Thursday's 9-1, 4-0 sweep at Nebraska-Kearney with Friday's routs, outscoring the two MIAA foes by a 31-2 margin.
Freshman Taylor Brees went 5 for 6 with five RBI and four runs scored in Friday's twinbill sweep at Fort Hays State. [File photo/TSN] Washburn out-hit the Tigers 27-6 and outscored the host squad 18-1 on Friday.
With the wins, Washburn improved to 28-15 overall and 5-9 in MIAA play, while Fort Hays State dropped to 17-20 and 3-9 in the conference.
The Washburn offense erupted early and often in the first game Friday afternoon, plating 10 runs across the second and third innings on the way to a 12-1, five-inning victory.
The Ichabods finished with 14 hits, six walks and 12 RBI.
After a scoreless first inning, Washburn broke the game open with a five-run second.
Following a walk to Danielle Schlader and singles from Kate Ediger and Makenzie Sais, Shawnee Heights product Taylor Brees delivered a two-out, three-run double to left-center, scoring Sais, Maddie McGee and former Heights standout Karlyn Bowman.
Dalaney Anderson followed with an RBI double to plate Brees and former Seaman standout Aspen Burgardt capped the inning with an RBI single to left as Washburn jumped out to a 5 0 lead.
The Ichabods continued to pile on runs in the third, scoring five runs on four hits. Sais drove in Schlader with a single and Brees knocked in another run with a base hit to center.
With runners on, Burgardt came through for the second time, ripping a three-run double to left-center that pushed the advantage to 10-0.
Washburn added two more runs in the fourth inning.
Madi Moore doubled to start the frame and later scored on an Ediger double to right-center.
Ediger then crossed the plate on a McGee RBI groundout, extending the lead to 12-0.
Fort Hays State broke up the shutout in the bottom of the fourth when Lilly Mohr doubled to right center to score Abbey Duarte, but it would be the Tigers' lone run of the contest.
Washburn's Sadie Walker limited Fort Hays State to one run on one hit, walking two and striking out two while needing just 70 pitches to complete the five-inning win.
Sais paced the Washburn offense with a perfect 3 for 3 game that included two runs scored, an RBI and a walk. Brees was also 3 for 3, scoring twice and driving in a four runs, while Ediger finished 3 for 3 with two runs and an RBI.
Burgardt had four RBI on two hits and Anderson went 2 for 3 with two runs scored and an RBI.
Washburn completed the sweep of Fort Hays State with a 6-0 shutout victory over the Tigers, winning its eighth in a row over the host squad.
The Ichabods scored the only run it would need in the top of the first inning.
After Brees singled with one out, Anderson doubled to left-center, driving in Brees.
Anderson advanced to third on a fielding error as Washburn took a 1-0 lead.
Washburn added to its lead in the third inning with a pair of runs.
With two outs, Anderson singled to keep the inning alive before Burgardt singled to left field, scoring McGee.
Moments later, Moore worked a bases-loaded walk to bring home Anderson, extending the WU lead to 3-0.
The Ichabods manufactured another run in the fourth.
Singles from Ediger and Sais put runners in scoring position before Brees lifted a sacrifice fly to left, allowing Ediger to score for a 4-0 Washburn advantage.
Washburn put the game away in the sixth inning.
Sais singled and Brees followed with a base hit before both runners advanced on a double steal.
Anderson delivered again, ripping a two-run double to left center that scored Brees and Sais to wrap up the scoring.
Silver Lake baseball splits twinbill with Big East foe Nemaha Central
By VINCE LOVERGINE
TopSports.news
After falling 6-5 in game one, Silver Lake baseball responded in game two with a 13-12 victory over Big East League foe Nemaha Central Thursday at Silver Lake.
Eagle sophomore Jaxton Ross secured the win with a throw from left field to gun down the runner from second, halting a potential tie game in the nightcap.
“Jax is one of the hardest workers that we have,” Silver Lake coach Tyler Seele said. “He gets to practice early, stays late, he does all the right things and funny how it works, we had one of our starting outfielders out of town and this was his chance tonight. I'm very proud of him.
"Not even just the throw, all night he had good at bats, a couple RBI base hits and made a couple great plays in that first game in the outfield, a couple plays here in the outfield in that second game and then the throw was on the money. I'm super happy for him because he's earned that moment. I’m very proud of him.”
“When I saw the ball coming towards me, I knew it was my one time to make a play and I made it,” Ross said. “It felt really great, celebrated with all my teammates, it felt really good.”
Silver Lake jumped out to a 6-1 lead after three innings in game two. Dayne Johnson had a two RBI double in the bottom half of the first and the Eagles scratched across four more via the sac fly or scoring on passed balls.
But then the Thunder roared back to reclaim the lead 7-6 after a six-run fourth inning where Silver Lake made a pitching change to hopefully stop the bleeding a little bit, bringing in Miles Kibbe replacing starter Rylan Young.
Seele then made two pitching changes in the fifth but Nemaha Central mustered just one run, as Silver Lake struggled finding the strike zone in both games.
The Eagles rallied themselves in the bottom of the fifth, scoring five runs as senior Drew Womack brought in three of those five runs on a three-run double.
The Thunder wouldn’t go away, trimming their deficit to just one after a two-RBI double from Charlie Rottinghaus.
The Eagles responded and got those two runs back, Womack again in the clutch with a two-RBI double, pushing the score to 13-10. He also homered in game one to start the scoring for Silver Lake in that eventual loss. He finished with six RBI in game two.
Nemaha Central made it interesting again in the top of the seventh, scoring a run on a sac fly after beginning the inning with two singles.
With two outs, Kendal Berman, shot one into left field, one run scores making it 13-12 but Ross jumped to play the hop on the turf and threw a rocket to home plate on a bounce in time to tag the runner out at home to secure the win.
His teammates mobbed him by third base afterwards.
“Making the biggest play so far for our team and there’s nothing much that I could ask for except that big win,” Ross said.
“That game right there has kind of been a microcosm of our season so far,'' Seele said. "Our guys have been resilient all year. I think we have five wins now and all five of our wins we've been down at some point in the game. Our fight is great right now, we compete at the plate, we're very aggressive at the plate, we're going to get up there and swing it.
"There are a lot of things we have to clean up defensively so we don't get ourselves into those situations, but the one thing I am proud of was how we continue to battle in those up and down games. Really proud of how we battled and ultimately found a way to win.''
GAME 1
NEMAHA CENTRAL 6, SILVER LAKE 5
Nemaha Central 014 010 0 -- 6 7 1
Silver Lake 100 300 1 -- 5 4 1
W -- Macke L -- Ki. Kruger 2B – Nemaha Central: Haverkamp, Heinen. Silver Lake: Johnson
HR – Silver Lake: Womack.
GAME 2
SILVER LAKE 13, NEMAHA CENTRAL 12
Nemaha Central (4-2) 100 612 2 -- 12 9 1
Silver Lake (5-2) 231 052 x -- 13 15 1
W -- Womack L -- Rottinghaus. 2B -- Nemaha Central: Rottinghaus. Silver Lake: Johnson, Womack 2.
Silver Lake softball improves to 7-1 with run rule sweep over Thunder
By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
The Silver Lake softball team, Class 3A state runnersup the past two seasons, are looking to be a contender once again.
The Eagles improved to 7-1 on the season by blasting Big East League foe Nemaha Central in two run-rule-shortened games Thursday.
Sophomore Mariah Kortan had two doubles and a home run in Silver Lake's twinbill sweep over Nemaha Central. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]
The Eagles rapped out 18 hits on the day, winning the doubleheader at Silver Lake 12-2 and 15-4.
“I feel like we went out and competed at the plate a little better today,” said Silver Lake coach Nick Hamilton. “We weren’t quite as timid as we’d been the last couple of days. When we get into tight spots, we’ve just got to be willing to play out of them and trust what we’re doing. Trust each other.
“The last couple of years, we’ve had some good hitting teams. I think (this year’s group) has caught on to what that secret is and they’re doing all right. A little more consistency would help, but we’re getting there.”
Senior Riley Mohler pitched a first-game four-hitter in Silver Lake's twinbill sweep over Nemaha Central. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]
Silver Lake got complete games from senior starting pitchers Riley Mohler and Paige Heiman. In the first game, Mohler permitted just four hits and struck out six batters. In the nightcap, Heiman surrendered six hits and struck out four.
“They’re both good in their own ways,” Silver Lake senior catcher Taylor Swygert, who caught both games, said of Mohler and Heiman. “They both have varieties and diversities when it comes to their strengths and weaknesses. So, they’re both really fun to work with and both really cool girls.”
In the first game, the Eagles took advantage of three Thunder errors in the second inning to grab an early lead and continued to add on. The Silver Lake offense rapped out four doubles in the game, two by sophomore Mariah Kortan. Swygert drove in four runs on two two-run singles.
Leading 7-2 in the bottom of the fifth, the floodgates opened on the Thunder. Five hits and two walks ballooned the score to 12-2, invoking the mercy rule.
In the second game, the Eagles hung a ‘9’ on the board in the second inning and a ‘5’ in the third. Saylor Liggett belted a triple with two runners on base in the second inning. A few batters later, Kortan blasted a three-run homer.
The Eagles have come up short in the past two 3A state championship tournaments, losing to Frontenac both times. Silver Lake graduated five seniors from the team that placed second in last year’s tournament.
Though this team is off to a hot start, Hamilton recognizes every year is different.
“They aren’t going to do it the same way we’ve done it the last two years. They’ve got to find their own way,” the coach said. “We’ve got some young girls, sophomores especially, stepping in to play some. It does help having some girls returning from last year’s state team because they have that experience. But it’s one of those things where we just go on to the next year, reload, and they know the expectations.”
