Rams fall in T.J. Classic championship game
After a pair of dominating wins to open the Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson Classic Softball Tournament, Glenwood’s bats went quiet in a 3-2 loss to Earlham in the championship game.
The Rams (8-8 overall, 5-4 in the Hawkeye 10 Conference) defeated Sidney 19-1 and Bedford 15-0 to open the tournament Saturday.
You never know what to expect when you play some smaller schools because they can play really, really well,” Stanton said. “We just sat back against their pitchers and we hit the heck out of the ball. We had 13 hits in game one and everybody put the ball in play.”
Glenwood got down 2-1 early against Earlham (17-7) in the championship game before tying it at 2-2 in the sixth. But the Cardinals rallied with a run in the seventh to secure the win.
The Rams had their chance in the seventh to tie it the bottom of the frame when Taryn Bertini moved to second base after a single. But the Rams couldn’t advance her.
“They hit the ball,” Stanton said of Earlham. “They put the ball in play. We hit it too but we just hit line drives right at people. We hit some shots to the outfield they got to. We didn’t go completely quiet, we just hit right at them.”
Brianna Gerhardt had a strong outing in the championship game, allowing six hits and striking out four.
“Only two of their runs were earned,” Stanton said. “She threw a lot of strikes and put the ball where we wanted and our defense played pretty well.”
Sydney Biermann struck out two and allowed two hits and one earned run in the game one win over Sidney.
Brooklyn Taylor, Brielle Smith, Brianna Gerhardt, Kelly Embray and Biermann each had two as part of an attack that saw nine different Rams record a hit.
“We got production from everybody up and down the lineup,” she said.
Glenwood picked up 12 hits in the 15-0 win over Bedford.
Kelly Embray had three hits and Smith smacked her first home run of the season in the win.
“We backed her off the plate a bit and I think it helped,” Stanton said. “She’d been pressing and stressing a bit and she got one she could hit and I think it felt good for her.”
Gerhardt struck out three and allowed just one hit in the three-inning victory.
Cyclones take two
from Glenwood
Morgan Schaben allowed five hits and struck out 27 in a pair of victory over Glenwood in Hawkeye 10 Conference softball Thursday in Harlan.
The Cyclones (16-5 overall, 10-1 in the conference) took advantage of three Glenwood errors early in a 5-2 game one victory and then blanked the Rams 3-0 in the capper.
The first inning of game one, Glenwood’s two errors proved the difference as Harlan plated four runs in the frame with three runs coming unearned.
“We gave up a couple errors in the first inning and that led to a couple runs and got us back on our heels,” said Glenwood coach Kylee Stanton. “But we take out that first inning, where they probably should have just got one, and we out-score them 2-1 the rest of the way.”
Biermann struck out four, walked one and gave up nine hits in the game one loss.
“She pitched well, I can’t argue with that. She put the ball where we wanted. We just needed our defense to make a few more plays.”
Brooklyn Taylor hit her first career home run and had two of the Rams’ three hits in opener.
Schaben, who fanned 13 in the first game, struck out 14 in game two. She also homered and drove in two runs.
“When they got up on us, we got too hungry and started chasing more,” Stanton said of her team’s struggles at the plate. “She (Schaben) lost some speed so she was moving it around more and we just chased rise balls and did silly things we didn’t need to be doing. The girls wanted to hit so bad it affected them more.”
Brianna Gerhardt went the whole way in game two and was credited with the loss after striking out five and allowing four hits, two of which were home runs.
Creston 13,
Glenwood 9
A season-high nine errors spelled doom for Glenwood in a 13-9 Hawkeye 10 Conference softball loss to Creston last Tuesday.
The Rams miscues led to nine Panther runs. Glenwood hit it well enough – 12 in all – and scored enough runs but couldn’t overcome those mistakes, said Glenwood coach Kylee Stanton.
“It was too big of a hole for us to dig out of,” she said. “It was routine plays we made errors are. That was the upsetting part.”
Brooklyn Taylor, Taryn Bertini, Sydney Biermann and Kelly Embray each had two hits a piece for Glenwood. Biermann took the loss in the circle.
Haylee Gillam earned the complete-game victory in the circle for the Panthers. The eighth grader allowed 12 hits and five earned runs while striking out three.
Emma Hanson 4-for-5 at the plate and drove in two runs for Creston.