WHS SOFTBALL: E/SWC survives late run by WHS

WORTHINGTON — Edgerton/Southwest Christian was able to survive a late onslaught by Worthington bats and take home a 12-11 victory over the Trojans at Centennial Park in softball action Thursday.

“They put up a fight and got a bunch of hits when they needed them and made the game interesting,” E/SWC coach Andrew Fleischman said. “I thought we played with a lot of hustle and I was happy with how we did at the plate, in the field and on the bases.

“After we got some of the nerves out, I thought we played the way we should. You have to play 21 outs. There’s no clock and the game is not over until you get that 21st out.”

Leading 12-3 with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning, it seemed as though the Flying Dutchmen were headed toward an easy victory in the squad’s season opener.

Worthington (1-1) put up seven runs with two outs in the sixth and added a run in the bottom of the seventh, but with the tying run on first base, Yadira Barragan popped up to end the game.

“The bats came alive and I was really happy with the way we responded to getting back in the game,” Worthington coach Sam Baumgartner said. “We ended the game with the tying run on first and the winning run at the plate, so we gave ourselves a chance, but it was too big of a hole to climb out of.

“We didn’t really play well enough early in the game to win this game and that’s what cost us at the end.”

E/SWC (1-0) sent nine batters to the plate in the firstinning and scored five runs in the frame. After leading the inning off with a single, Jessica Menning (4-for-5, three runs) scored on a wild pitch to open up the scoring. Tara DeKam scored on a Worthington error and Tanner Gunnink scored on a double steal to make it 3-0. Ciara Everett hit a two-run single with two outs to make it 5-0 Flying Dutchmen.

Worthington came back with two runs in the bottom half of the inning. Barragan scampered home on bad throw and K.C. Riley stole home to make it 5-2.

E/SWC answered right back in the top of the second inning. After a two-out double by Breana Van Dyke, freshman Tanner Gunnink (2-for-4, two runs, two RBI, HR) connected on her first career home run to make it 7-2.

“It felt so good when I swung the bat and all I could do was smile,” Gunnink said. “I just saw the pitch and said, ‘Oh, I like this one,’ so I swung.

“I can’t even describe how good it felt.”

Menning would make it 8-2 in the top of the fourth, leading off the inning with a double, stealing third and scoring on a wild throw.

Valeria Cano scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the fifth to cut the E/SWC lead to 8-3, but the Flying Dutchmen came back with four runs in the top of the sixth to make the lead seemingly insurmountable.

After leading off the sixth with a triple, Menning scored on a wild pitch. Three batters later Brittani Roskamp drove in DeKam with a single. Gunnink scored on a wild throw and a Sarah Post single drove in Roskamp to make it 12-3.

With two outs and the bases loaded with Trojans in the bottom of the sixth, the Worthington bats came alive.

Paige Kinley (2-for-5, three RBIs, run) hit a two-run double, scoring Jenny Majerus and Kari Suby. Barragan (2-for-5, two RBIS, two runs) followed Kinley with a two-run triple, scoring Kinley and Haley Rogers. After K.C. Riley was hit by a pitch, Angela Robinson sent one into the gap for a two-run double, scoring Riley and Barragan. Pinch runner Tuyen Nguyen scored on a throwing error to make it 12-10 heading into the final frame.

E/SWC went scoreless in the top half of the seventh to keep the scored at 12-10. With two outs and Majerus on second with a double, Kinley laced a single to make it 12-11, but the Trojans would get no closer.

Van Dyke went the distance for E/SWC, striking out 12, walking 3 and giving up 14 hits on the mound to get the win.

“We hit really good in the early innings,” Van Dyke said. “There was a lot of nerves toward the end of the game I think, but it felt good to come out of it with a win, especially against Worthington, who is a really good team.”

E/SWC will take on Luverne Monday and Worthington will host a doubleheader versus Pipestone Area April 12.

Daily Globe Sports Editor Chris Murphy can be reached at 376-7328.

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