Rams stay perfect with sweep of Kuemper

A pair of quick starts at the plate and a pair of equally impressive pitching performances from Sydney Biermann and Taryn Bertini helped Glenwood to a sweep of Kuemper Catholic in Hawkeye 10 Conference softball Thursday.

Glenwood won game one 13-9 and then came back to shutout the Knights 9-0 in the nightcap. With the wins the Rams improve to 6-0 on the season.

“Our girls are playing with a lot of confidence right now,” said Glenwood coach Kylie Stanton.

In the opener Thursday, the Knights came out and poked two hits off Biermann that led to two runs. The 2-0 hole only proved to fire up the Rams heading into the bottom of the frame.

“Kuemper came out in that first half of the inning and hit the ball really hard and I think that was an eye-opener for us,” Stanton said. “We knew this team wouldn’t be a walkover. After that, we came up to bat and we were seeing the ball really well and being disciplined and looking for our pitch. Our first four batters all lead off with hits.”

Those first four hits – singles by Bertini, back-to-back doubles by Brooklyn Taylor and Brielle Smith and a home run by Biermann – led to three runs. The Rams added five more in the second and the third.

The eight run lead was all Biermann needed in the circle.

“She’s throwing the ball really well right now,” Stanton said. “She’s hitting her spots and throwing hard. She may have even picked up a few miles per hour since last season and that’s helping her spin the ball even better.”

In the capper, Bertini allowed just two hits in recording her first career shutout.

“She threw really well,” Stanton said of her sophomore hurler. “The big difference between her and Syd is she throws about five miles an hour slower. And even at that speed it’s hard for teams to adjust to her after seeing Syd. She throws the same amount of pitches with the same amount of spin as Syd does which makes her very, very effective. She kept their batters on their toes.”

In the two wins, the Rams roughed up a trio of Knight pitcher for 18 hits while drawing nine walks.

Glenwood 7,
C.B. Abraham Lincoln 0

Sydney Biermann struck out 15 and allowed one hit in a 7-0 complete-game shutout victory over Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln last Tuesday.

Biermann was dominant in the circle, allowing just two base runners all game long, and hitting her spots.

“This is the performance I’d say was her best ever,” said Glenwood coach Kylie Stanton. “She really, really well and they couldn’t get to her.”

The Rams (4-0) recorded eight hits in the win and did not commit an error.
Maddie Liddell and Arianna Springer had two hits each for Glenwood.

“It’s kind of nice to see the bottom part of our line up pick us up,” Stanton said. “Our lineup is kind of stacked this year. You never know who’s going to come out for us and hit the ball.”