Jeremy Ratliff
Reporter
Tuesday May 9, the upstart Tomahawk Hatchet softball squad looked to keep their momentum chugging in welcoming the Lakeland Thunderbirds to a GNC duel at Kahle Memorial Park.
Following a scoreless first inning, the Hatchets drove him a stiff 2-run blow in the bottom of the second.
The Birds would finally make it on the board with a single run in the top of the 5th, only to have Tomahawk counter with a run of their own to stay up 3-1. Lakeland countered yet again with another un in the top of the 6th but were met with a 2-run volley from Tomahawk to put the game away 5-2.
“Overall this was a good win,” comments head coach John Larson. “We got another solid pitching performance from Rachel Dallman. Defensively, we had a couple miscues but nothing that really hurt us. Where we struggled was at the plate. Lakeland’s pitcher was slower than what we had been seeing and we did not do a good job of adjusting to that. We were out in front of everything, didn’t stay back and we hit a lot of lazy pop-ups and ground balls. We will need to do a better job of this down the road.”
Batting: Whitney Osero (2/2, RBI); Danielle Kurth (2/3, 2-2B); Courtney Theiler (1/3, 2B)
Pitching: Rachel Dallman (W/11K, BB)
LKD: 0 0 0 0 1 1 0-2
THK: 0 2 0 0 1 2 X-5
Grounding the Eagles
Thursday May 11, the ladies kicked off game-2 of their home stand with Northland Pines; shutting down the Eagles in rather quick, decisive action; sending them home with a 14-0 thumping.
“Coming off a game where we did not hit the ball very well, we did a nice job of being patient at the plate, hitting good pitches and hit the ball hard,” Larson adds.
“Holley Winker was our multiple-hit player going 2-2. Taylor Shilts and Danielle Kurth both added doubles, while Ossero landed a triple. Rachel Dallman and Courtney Theiler combined to throw a single-hitter. Defensively, we did not commit any errors and our girls did a great job of not playing down to our opponents’ level. They responded well with their bats after struggling earlier this week.”
Batting: Holley Winker (2/2, RBI); Taylor Schilts (1/3, 2B, 2RBI); Danielle Kurth (1/4, 2B); Megan Marcks (1/2, 3B)
Pitching: Dallman (W/7K, 0H, BB); Theiler (2K, H)
NLD: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0
THK: 3 2 3 6 X X X-14
Manhandling the Midgets
Friday May 12, the Hatchets hit the road northbound for Hurley, looking to knock off the 14-2 Midgets; who stood ranked 8th in the latest coaches poll for Division 5.
The end result would be a triumphant 8-0 shutout win for the Hatchets; riding the proven arm of junior flame thrower Rachel Dallman and a core of heavy hitters.
Batting: Taylor Shilts (2/4); Dallman (2/4, 2B); Ossero (1/3, 2B, RBI)
Pitching: Dallman (15K, BB, H)
THK: 1 1 3 1 1 0 0-7
HLY: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0
“This game was a good test for us in non-conference play,” Larson said.
“Hurley came into the game 14-2 and ranked #8 in Division 5. We came ready to play and we did it on the road after a 2-hour bus ride. This game’s performance on the season ranked right next to our win over Mosinee. We played extremely well in all phases of the game. Offensively we pounded out 10 hits and hit the ball hard. Taylor Shilts and Rachel Dallman had 2 hits each. Dallman had a double and Whitney Ossero added a double. What I really liked was how aggressive we were at the plate. When we got our pitch, we were ripping it and we did it top to bottom in our line-up. 8 of 9 starters all collected at least one hit. Defensively, it was our second game in a row with no errors, but a lot had to do with our pitching. Rachel went the distance striking out 15, walking one, and finishing the game with only a single hit. She kept the midgets off balance all night, her location was good and Rachel did a great job with her change-up.”