MW SOFTBALL: Lady Jays softball on six-game win streak

AUSTIN — The Minnesota West softball team extended its winning streak to six games after winning all four of the games it played in the Crossover Tournament on Saturday and Sunday.

On Saturday, the Lady Jays played a doubleheader against Vermillion.

In Game 1, Minnesota West won 9-1 in five innings.

Erin Ebbers tossed a complete game, giving up one earned run, walking four and striking out two.

At the plate, Alyson Drooger was 2-for-3 with a run and a triple, Katey Granstra was 2-for-3 with two runs and the game-ending RBI, Ashley Sell was 2-for-2 with a run and a two-run home run and Cheyenne Platz had a solo homer.

In Game 2, the Lady Jays defeated Vermillion 8-0 in six innings.

Ebbers pitched a complete game, walking one and striking out six.

At the plate, Alayna Hall was 3-for-4 with a run, Ebbers was 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI, Platz was 2-for-3, Drooger was 2-for-2 with two doubles, an RBI and a run and Rachel Malmgren was 2-for-3 with an RBI, a run scored and two stolen bases.

“We got a lot of people involved who don’t normally top our stat sheets,” MW coach Rosalie Hayenga-Hostikka said. “It was so fun to see Katey Granstra, who hasn’t had lots of playing time this season, and she did awesome. She showed she’s more than capable of being in more regularly. And Rachel Malmgren, Ashley Sell, just up and down the lineup we had great production.

“It’s really a sign of a good team to have that many people capable of getting things done.”

On Sunday, the Lady Jays played their first game against Hibbing, winning 17-10.

Ebbers pitched a complete game, giving up five earned runs, walking three and striking out one.

At the plate, Hall was 3-for-4 with two runs, two RBIs and a solo home run, Ebbers was 3-for-5 with two runs, an RBI and two stolen bases, Katherine Kazemba was 2-for-5 with three runs, a three-RBI triple and two stolen bases, Steph Behrends was 2-for-5 with two runs and a two-run homer, Platz was 3-for-4 with two runs and a two-run home run, Jess Hermeling was 2-for-5 with three runs and an RBI and Sell was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.

And in their fourth game of the tournament, Minnesota West defeated Itasca 6-5.

Kazemba pitched the first four innings for the Lady Jays, but Ebbers closed out the game and eventually got the win. She gave up no runs, walked one and struck out six through her three innings pitched.

At the plate, Hall was 2-for-3 with two runs and a stolen base, Kazemba was 2-for-3 with two runs, an RBI and two stolen bases and Behrends was 2-for-3 with a run, two RBIs and a stolen base.

“We’re pretty fired up right now since we’re on a six-game winning streak,” Hayenga-Hostikka said. “The most exciting games were the ones we played Sunday against Hibbing and Itasca. Those teams have the two best pitchers we’ve seen all year. Hibbing’s girl had an ERA of 2 and we scored 17 runs on her, which is awesome. And Itasca is the No. 6 team in the nation and their pitcher has a 0.97 ERA. We went down hard the first time through the lineup —six of our nine girls struck out—but we made adjustments and ended up beating a top team.”

The Lady Jays improved to 13-12 on the season with the four wins over the weekend.

After dropping four games prior to its six-game winning streak, the softball team decided not to give up on its season quite yet.

“When we gave up 17 unearned runs against Rochester, we felt that we had hit rock bottom and couldn’t play any worse,” Hayenga-Hostikka said. “I think a lot of what this win streak comes down to is pride.

“The girls could go about it one of two ways. They could fold up and say their season was over. But instead, they’ve played their best six games of the season since then. To respond like that says a lot. They’re proving to everyone they’re good softball players.”

Game One R H E

Vermillion 100 00 – 1 7 1

MW 311 31 – 9 10 2

Game Two R H E

MW 012 203 – 8 13 0

Vermillion 000 000 – 0 4 2

Game Three R H E

MW 013 040 9 – 17 18 3

Hibbing 001 103 5 – 10 13 2

Game Four R H E

Itasca 100 400 0 – 5 7 2

MW 000 330 X – 6 8 3

Tags: minnesota west sports, sports, softball