Cards face tough competition in Newman and Gilbert

(Above) GHV’s Nicole Upmeyer gets a hit during the West Fork game on Wednesday.  The Cardinals topped West Fork, 1-0.  -Reporter photo by Chris Barragy

By Michelle Watson

The Garner-Hayfield-Ventura softball team faced some tough competition last week.  The team was defeated twice by Newman Catholic and once by a competitive Gilbert team.  On an upswing, the Cardinals defeated West Fork, moving their record to 6-15 overall.

Newman 14, GHV 0

It was a tough night on the road for the GHV girls when they traveled to Newman Catholic on Tuesday, June 18.

The Knight’s pitcher went to work early, sitting down the GHV batters in the first inning.  Newman exploded in the first, capitalizing on Cardinal miscues to score 14 runs.

GHV had two more chances to play catch-up before the game ended in three innings, 14-0.

“Newman came out and put the pressure on us early,” said Coach Kaitlin Murphy.  “They hit every single ball hard and we were back on our heels.  We didn’t come ready to play against a good Newman team.”

The Knights collected 10 hits in the game, compared to two for the Cardinals.  Megan Oetken knocked a double and Maddie Graham had a single.

Kylie Hughes and Graham both saw time on the mound.  Hughes gave up eight hits and 13 runs before Graham was brought in. She gave up two hits and one run.

GHV 1, West Fork 0

Maddie Graham threw one of her best games of the season, leading the Cardinals to a 1-0 win over West Fork on Wednesday, June 19.  Graham was credited with the win.  She allowed five hits and zero runs over all seven innings.  She struck out two and had no walks.

“Maddie worked her way out of situations and let her defense work,” said Coach Kaitlin Murphy.

The Cardinals scored their run in the bottom of the fifth inning when Trinity Smith hit a sacrifice fly to left field, which allowed Sadie Oulman to score.

Jayden Hughes led the team at the plate, collecting two hits on three at-bats.  Oulman was the only other Cardinal to get a hit.

“This was a big step up for us.  Every girl did her hob and this was big confidence boost for the team,” said Murphy.

Garner Tournament

The Cardinals hosted a six-team tournament on Saturday, June 22.

GHV opened the day facing Newman Catholic.  The game was a slug fest between the two teams.  Newman knocked 13 hits, including three homers, a triple and two doubles.  The Cardinal bats were fired up too, with nine hits.

Newman got a quick 9-2 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth inning.  The Cards notched three runs in the fifth.  Nicole Upmeyer, Emily VanDusseldorp and Kaitlyn Robinson each had RBIs in the frame.  Neither team scored the remainder of the game and the Knights recorded the 9-5 win.

“I was very proud of the fight the girls showed in this game.  We gave up most of the runs in the early innings and had to claw our way back into the game,” said Coach Kaitlin Murphy.  “We played them much better than we did earlier in the week.”

Maddie Graham recorded the loss for the Cardinals.  She pitched three and one-third innings, allowing nine runs on 10 hits and she struck out two.  Kylie Hughes also saw time on the mound.  She gave up three hits.

Upmeyer, Graham and Trinity Smith all collected multiple

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hits.  Upmeyer was three-for-five at the plate to lead the Cards.

For their second game of the day, the Cardinals faced Gilbert.  GHV took a hard hit early and couldn’t recover in a 13-0 trounce.  The Tigers posted seven runs in the first inning to set the tone.

Solid batting helped Gilbert to secure the victory.  Gilbert connected on 15 hits, including two home runs and five doubles.

GHV only managed two hits, provided by Megan Oetken and Robinson.

“Gilbert is another quality program .  They hit the ball very similar too Newman.  They hit hard and they hit the ball where our players weren’t,” said Murphy.  “We learned a lot in playing them.”

Hughes took the loss.  She lasted two-thirds of an inning.  She gave up six hits and seven runs.  Graham stepped in to finish the game.  She gave up nine hits, allowed six runs and struck-out two batters.

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