Cadet girls bounce Osage, MFL; split two against Charles City

 

CRESCO - The Crestwood varsity softball team started its 2017 on the right foot last week as the Cadets edged Osage, 5-4, in eight innings on May 23; and they downed MFL-MM, 5-1, May 24 at home.

Taking on Charles City in a home doubleheader on May 25, the Cadets lost the first game to the Comets, 4-14, in five innings; and they bounced back to down the Comets in game two, 8-1.

 

Cadets 5, Osage 4

Playing at Osage in the season opener May 23, the Cadets edged the Green Devils, 5-4, on an RBI ground out by Kristen Reicks in the top of the eighth.

The Cadets took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first. Shannon Pisney and Lauren Reicks each drove in one run with a single. One run scored on an Osage error.

Crestwood grabbed a 4-0 lead in the third on an RBI single by Megan Ryan.

Osage tallied one run each in the fourth and sixth before scoring two runs in the seventh to tie the game at four.

Kaylee Thomas, Karley Freidhof, Megan Ryan and Laken Lienhard each had one single. Shannon Pisney and Lauren Reicks each had one double. Lauren Reicks, Pisney, Ryan and Kristen Reicks each had one RBI.

Laken Lienhard was the winning pitcher. She tossed the final four innings, allowed one run, three hits and struck out five.

“We had trouble pushing runs across against Osage,” Coach Doug Sickles said. “I thought our girls showed a lot of composure by coming back to score the game-winning run after Osage tied the game in the seventh inning.”

Score by innings

Cadets  3 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 - 5

Osage   0 0 0 1 0 1 2 0 - 4

 

Cadets 5, MFL-MM 1

After a slow start, the Cadets tallied two runs in the third and two in the fourth en route to a strong 5-1 win over MFL-MM May 24 at home.

In the third inning, Laken Lienhard singled and Shannon Pisney doubled. Lienhard scored on an MFL wild pitch. Megan Ryan singled to drive in Pisney to give the Cadets a 2-0 lead.

In the fourth, Kaylie Henry singled and scored on a double by Lienhard. Pisney grounded out to drive in courtesy runner Kayla Lentz.

Crestwood added one insurance run in the sixth to push its lead to 5-1. Kaylie Henry drew a walk and stole second. Kelsey Burnikel ripped a single to drive in Henry.

Laken Lienhard was the winning pitcher. She tossed six innings, allowed one run and struck out nine.

Lienhard had two hits, including one double, and one RBI. Pisney had one single and two RBI. Ryan had one hit and one RBI. Kaylee Thomas and Kristen Reicks each had two hits. Kaylie Henry and Kelsey Burnikel each had one hit.

“Our bats had a tough time putting the ball in play, but our defense and pitching really carried us,” Coach Sickles said.

  Score by innings

MFL     0 0 0 0 0 1 0 - 1

Cadets  0 0 2 2 0 1 x - 5

 

   Comets 14, Cadets 4 (G1)

     In game one, Charles City raced to a 6-0 lead in the first inning and cruised to a 14-4 win in five innings over the Cadets.

Charles City added two runs each in the second and third innings and four runs in the fifth.

The Cadets tallied three runs in the bottom of the third. Kaylie Henry drew a walk and Laken Lienhard ripped a two-run home run to right field. Shannon Pisney drew a walk. With two outs, Megan Ryan crushed a double to drive in Pisney.

Crestwood scored one run in the fifth. Megan Ryan hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Pisney.

Lauren Reicks took the loss as she pitched four innings.

Offensively, Lienhard had two hits, including one home run, and two runs batted in. Megan Ryan had one double and two RBI.

“Our pitching and defense were not as sharp as we needed them to be in game one,” Sickles noted. “Charles City is an extremely good team, but we need to play better overall. I was happy with our offense later in the game.”

Score by innings

C.City     6  2  2  0  4  - 14

Cadets    0  0  3  0  1 -  4

 

    Cadets 8, Comets 1 (G2)

In game two, the Cadets jumped out to a 7-0 lead after three innings en route to a strong 8-1 victory.

Crestwood took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a solo home run by Laken Lienhard.

The Cadets chalked up three runs in the second to push the lead to 4-0. Megan Ryan singled and Trista Foster walked. With two outs, Kaylie Henry ripped a single to drive in Ryan. Laken Lienhard singled to drive in Foster. Ryan scored on a wild pitch.

Crestwood tacked on three runs in the third to extend the lead to 7-0. Kayla Lentz walked and Pisney singled. Lauren Reicks ripped a double to score Lentz and Pisney. Ryan reached base on an error, which allowed Reicks to score.

The Cadets added one more run in the fourth to go ahead 8-0. Lienhard singled and Annie Mast came in as a courtesy runner. Shannon Pisney doubled to drive in Mast.

Lienhard was the winning pitcher. She tossed seven innings, allowed seven hits, one earned run, no walks and she struck out five batters.

At the plate, Lienhard had three hits, including one homer. Lauren Reicks and Kaylie Henry each had one double. Megan Ryan and Shannon Pisney each had two hits.