GHV girls face week of ups and downs

(Above) GHV’s Morgan Krein slides safely into home during the North Iowa game.  The Cards topped North Iowa, 11-7.  -Reporter photo by Chris Barragy

by Michelle Watson

It was a week of ups and downs for the Garner-Hayfield-Ventura softball team, as they picked up three big wins, and dropped three, moving their record to 4-4.

GHV 11, North Iowa 7

GHV got their offense rolling Tuesday night, May 28, when they hosted North Iowa.

The game opened on a fast note when the Cardinals got up to bat.  Trinity Smith opened things up by stealing home.  Kylie Hughes singled on a line drive to center field, bringing in Morgan Krein and Nicole Upmeyer, 3-0.  The Cards scored one more run in the first inning when Krein scored on a wild pitch.

The Cardinals scored in the second inning on a sacrifice fly to center field that allowed Emily VanDusseldorp to score, 5-0.  GHV scored two more runs in the bottom of the fourth, one by Jayden Hughes, and the other on a double by Krein that brought in Smith, 7-2.

GHV notched four more runs in the sixth inning on the big bats of Maddie Graham, Jailyn Krein and a double by Megan Oetken.  North Iowa scored two runs in the top of the seventh, but it wasn’t enough as the Cardinals picked up the 11-7 victory.

“It was great to see our offense come alive tonight,” said Coach Kaitlin Murphy.  “We were in that position tonight with our defense unfortunately having costly errors, but we never let the bats die.  We battled back and made things happen.”

Kylie Hughes was the winning pitcher.  She lasted five innings, allowing six hits and five runs, while striking out four.  Graham threw two innings in relief.  She had one strike-out and allowed two runs.

Krein and Oetken each had a double.  Krein led the team in RBIs with three.

Forest City 7, GHV 1

The tide shifted for the Cardinals on Wednesday, May 29, when they traveled to Forest City and had a hard time containing the Indians’ high-powered offense.

GHV fell behind early and couldn’t make a comeback.  The Indians scored four runs in the first inning and one in the second to get a 5-0 lead.  Forest City scored one run in each of the fourth and fifth innings.

The Cardinals didn’t get a run until the sixth inning, when Sadie Oulman singled on a fly ball to left field, allowing Nicole Upmeyer to score.

“Our goal is never give up a big inning, especially the first inning.  We are still trying to figure out how to start a game and finish a game with confidence,” said Coach Kaitlin Murphy.

Leaving too many runners on base is part of the problem, according to Murphy.  She said the girls have been taking the changes to the infield in stride and have been giving it their all.

“I believe we are headed in the right direction,” said Murphy.

Maddie Graham took the loss on the mound.  She allowed seven hits and seven runs over five innings, striking out one.  Kylie Hughes also saw time on the mound.  She had two strike-outs.

Upmeyer, Trinity Smith, Jailyn Krein, Jayden Hughes and Oulman all managed one hit apiece.

Humboldt 7, GHV 0

The Cardinals met a well-coached, athletic team when they faced Humboldt on Thursday, May 30.  The Wildcats defeated GHV, 7-0.

“We knew we would need to play our very best to give ourselves a shot at a win,” said Coach Kaitlin Murphy.  “The girls did a good job keeping their composure and making plays.”

Humboldt scored all seven of their runs in the second inning, aided by a grand slam.

Kylie Hughes took the loss for GHV.  She allowed three hits and seven runs over one and one-third innings, striking out two.  Maddie Graham pitched the rest of the game.  She gave up two hits and struck out two batters.

“Kylie and Maddie have a great dynamic.  I have full confidence in either one of them to get the job done.  When one is struggling, the other knows it’s time to step up and get to work.”

GHV 4, B-K 3

Some timely hits aided the Cardinals when they needed them.  The hits helped GHV to a 4-3 win over Belmond-Klemme on Friday, May 31, at home.

“We just put the ball in play tonight, which put pressure on their defense.  I’m very proud of the way the girls bounced back after the loss at Humboldt,” said Coach Kaitlin Murphy.  “We have learned a lot this week and we have grown as individuals and as a team.”

The Cardinals scored early on a single by Megan Oetken that brought in Trinity Smith.  They scored again in the third inning when Jailyn Krein singled on a line drive to the shortstop, scoring Jayden Hughes.

B-K stepped it up in the fifth inning, scoring three runs and taking a 3-2 lead.  GHV didn’t give up and scored in the bottom of the fifth on a Bronco error.  They scored another one in the sixth inning when Hughes was hit by a pitch with bases loaded, allowing Maddie Graham to score, 4-3.  The GHV defense kicked it up and held the Broncos scoreless in the seventh, ending the game.

Graham earned the victory in the circle.  She pitched two innings, allowing zero runs on three hits.  She struck out one and walked one.  Kylie Hughes got the start, she struck out seven and gave up three runs on two hits.

Hughes, Smith, Krein, Sadie Oulman and Oetken all got hits.

GHV 18, Rockford 17

Riceville 12, GHV 11

The Cardinals had their highs and lows in a tournament held in Lake Mills on Saturday, June 1.  One thing was certain, the Cardinal bats were on fire Saturday.

The Cardinals built a nine-run lead in the first inning when they faced Rockford.  The slug fest came down to the wire, as GHV squeaked out a one-run win in a high scoring 18-17 game.

A dramatic walk-off error in the last inning sealed GHV’s win.  The game was tied at 17 with GHV batting in the bottom of the seventh, when an error scored a run.

Maddie Graham was the winning pitcher.  She lasted five innings, allowing nine hits and 10 runs, while striking out two and walking one.  Kylie Hughes started on the mound.  She pitched two innings, allowing four hits and seven runs, while striking out three and walking one.

The Cardinals had 12 hits in the game.  Jailyn Krein led the way with there hits, one being a double, and she had two RBIs.  Collecting two hits apiece was Jayden Hughes, Megan Oetken and Emily VanDusseldorp.  Nicole Upmeyer, Graham and VanDusseldorp all had two RBIs.

The game again came down to the final inning, but this time luck wasn’t on the Cardinal’s side, as they fell 12-11 to Riceville.

The game was tied at 11 with Riceville batting in the bottom of the eighth, when an error scored one run, giving Riceville the victory.

Despite the loss, the Cardinals collected 14 hits in the high-scoring affair.  Oetken and Upmeyer led the offense with three hits apiece.  Smith, Jayden Hughes and Kaitlyn Robinson had two hits apiece.  One of Robinson’s hits was a double.

Upmeyer led the team in RBIs with three.  Smith, Krein and Oetken had two apiece.

Hughes took the loss for the Cardinals.  She pitched two innings, allowing nine runs on six hits and striking out one.  Graham provided relief.  She gave up seven hits and two runs, while striking out one.