CHARLES CITY — The Woodward-Granger softball team hoped they would be rewarded for a long drive north Saturday with their first victory of the year.[wpedon id=”82220″ align=”center”]
Unfortunately it was not to be the case, as North Butler topped W-G, 10-0, before Waukon escaped with a 5-4 victory in the Charles City Classic. The losses followed losses of 5-4 at Bondurant-Farrar Friday, and of 4-0 at Southeast Valley Thursday, as W-G fell to 0-8 overall.
Saturday’s second game pitted W-G and Waukon, with the Hawks quickly moving to a 4-1 lead after three innings. Waukon scored twice in the bottom of the fourth and once in the fifth to tie the game, then came up with a big defensive play in the top of the sixth, as the Indian right fielder gunned down a runner trying to tag up and score from third base, with the play preserving the tie.
A brief rain delay followed shortly thereafter, with W-G unable to score in the top of the seventh.
Waukon’s Hailey Regan doubled with one out, then scored the winning run when Madalyn Ellingson singled.
Regan had two singles to go with her double and scored three times, with Anika Headington swattering two doubles and Allison Sherman one.
Lauren Elliott allowed four runs on 12 hits and two walks while striking out two in the win.
Ava Petersen pitched well for W-G, yielding five runs on 11 hits while striking out five and not issuing any bases on balls.
Katelyn Bandstra was 4-for-4 with a double, a run, a RBI and a stolen base, with Chloe Houge 4-for-4 with a double, a run and a steal. Natalie Weaver hit a triple and scored, with Emma Anderson, Maddi Danti, and Rian Jamison adding base hits while Petersen scored once.
The first game at the classic ended after five innings, with North Butler’s offense too much for W-G.
Nicole Heeren hit a two-run home run, a solo home run and two singles, with Abbie Wix adding a single and double to help lead the 12-hit attack.
Jamison took the loss, yielding six runs on eight hits and three walks in three frames, with Elly Polich tossing 1-1/4 innings, surrendering four runs on four hits. Both pitchers recorded one strikeout.
Danti had two singles for the Hawks, with Bandstra, Houge, Polich and Alissa Smeltzer each adding base hits.
Bondurant-Farrar topped visiting W-G by a 5-4 final Friday.
W-G trailed, 5-3, entering the top of the seventh when Kaycee Major reached on an outfield error. She moved up a base on a wild pitch and raced home on an error to close the gap to 5-4, but the Hawks could not scratch across a tying run.
Josie Carter and Riley Gilroy had two hits apiece for B-F, with Megan Murphy hitting a single, a RBI-double and a two-run home run.
RayAnn Baker pitched two innings for the Lady Jays, allowing three runs (all unearned) on one hit and four walks while fanning two. Gilroy threw five frames, giving up a run on two hits and five walks while recording seven strikeouts.
Petersen started and went four innings, surrendering five runs on eight hits and four walks with one strikeout. Jamison allowed one hit in two solid innings of relief.
Anderson had two hits and two RBIs, with Weaver recording a single. Jamison, Houge, Weaver and Anderson each drew two walks, with Bandstra walking once. Major, Petersen, Bandstra and Houge scored one run apiece.
Singles from Houge and Jamison were the only hits W-G recorded Thursday in Harcourt, as Southeast Valley pitcher MacKenzie Crampton shut down the Hawks.
Crampton walked Major and hit Weaver with a pitch while striking out seven in the complete-game win.
SEV used two walks and a hit to score once in the third frame, then plated two runs in the inning when a passed ball — on which one run had already scored — was ruled to have gone out-of-bounds, allowing a second run to score, giving the hosts a 3-0 lead. A final tally in the sixth capped the scoring.
Petersen went the distance for W-G, allowing four runs on seven hits and four walks. She finished with four strikeouts.
W-G hosts Earlham Monday before visiting AC/GC Tuesday and Saydel Thursday.
