Hawks test top-ranked Raiders before bowing out

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Panorama left fielder Hannah Woodworth alertly covered third base on a broken play Monday, but the throw to nail W-G's Miranda Aunspach was late, with the collision pushing Woodworth off the bag.

COLLINS — If Class 2A CMB thought unheralded Woodward-Granger would just show up and then meekly leave in their Region 7 contest Wednesday they were in for a rude surprise.

W-G (15-20) committed three errors and produced only two hits, but managed to scrape across a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to turn a 3-0 deficit into a 3-2 ballgame.

The scare appeared to shake up the Raiders (26-5), who responded with three runs in the top of the seventh to claim a 6-2 win and end the season for the Hawks.

W-G center fielder Bree Lesch squeezes a fly ball as left fielder Alissa Smeltzer closes on the play Monday against Panorama.

CMB had three girls named Mikayla and a fourth Makayla on the roster, but it was Mikayla Houge who dominated the action, issuing only two walks while striking out 14 and allowing two unearned runs on just two hits.

The Raiders scored on two walks, a single, wild pitch and follow-up base hit in the second to grab a 2-0 lead, then tacked on a third run after a single, stolen base, sacrifice bunt and sac fly in the fifth.

A one-out walk from Katelyn Bandstra broke up the no-hitter in the W-G sixth. She stole second, then raced to third on an errant throw from the catcher.

Miranda Aunspach followed with a walk and was allowed to advance to second, with Kendra Husmann reaching on the third error of the game by CMB’s second baseman (the prior two had allowed Maggi Mallon to reach safely in her first two at-bats).

Riley Jamison fires a strike to fellow W-G catcher Maggi Mallon in a game against DMC June 20..

The miscue allowed Bandstra to score, with a walk to Kaycee Major loading the bases. Riley Jamison singled home Aunspach, with the hit keeping the bags juiced, but a strikeout and ground out stopped the rally one run short of tying the game.

CMB used two singles and a Hawk error to fuel a three-run surge in the seventh that put the game away.

Houge was impressive in the ring, retiring 15 of the first 17 batters she faced (Mallon twice reaching on errors the exception) with 10 strikeouts.

Jamison suffered the loss, yielding six runs on eight hits while waking five, two of whom scored. Three Raider runs were unearned, with the senior striking out one.

W-G senior Kendra Husmann pulls in a fly ball June 20 against DMC.

Bandstra and Jamison had the lone Hawk hits, with Major and Aunspach drawing walks.

Woodward-Granger finishes

The loss ends the careers of Aunspach, Husmann, Jamison, Mallon and Bree Lesch. Including their eighth-grade summer (save Mallon, who moved in from Ballard two years ago), the quintet were 90-83 in five seasons as Hawks.

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