VOLGA Sioux Valleys season came to an end on Wednesday afternoon as the Cossacks fell 11-7 to Elk Point-Jefferson in the Class A Softball SoDak 16.
The No. 7 seeded Cossacks (16-6) and No. 10 seeded Huskies (9-9) were tied 7-7 heading into the seventh inning and EPJ was able to push across four runs to clinch its spots in the State Tournament. That was right after Sioux Valley scored three runs to tie the game in the sixth.
Sioux Valley head coach Tatum Sonnenberg said despite the loss, she was proud of the way her team fought throughout the game.
I think this game really showed what this team is capable of doing and Im very proud of all things that happened today. We didnt shut down when we could have and we finished out the game. Seven innings is a long game and we havent played many of those this year, so we finished the game well, Sonnenberg said.
Sioux Valley broke a 0-0 tie in the third inning. Zaylee Lantgen and Cameron Uecker drew back-to-back walks to begin the inning. Summer Guthmiller pinch ran for Lantgen and she advanced to third on a passed ball and then scored on a fielders choice to make it 1-0.
EPJ answered with three runs in the top of the fourth. The first run came on a sacrifice fly to shallow left field. The next two runs came on an error and the Huskies took a 3-1 lead.
The Cossacks were able to tie the game in the bottom of the inning. Savana Guthmiller led off the inning with a triple. She scored on a ground out from Katie Richarz and Amelia Jacobson reached on an error and made her way to third base. She then scored on a ground out from Lantgen to make it 3-3.
Cera Schmitz gave the Huskies the lead with an RBI single in the top of the fifth. The Huskies then scored the run on an error and Aynslee Goetzinger hit a two-run single to make it 7-3 heading into the bottom of the fifth.
Kassidy Smith led off the bottom of the inning with a single and then stole second. She was then hit home by a single from Morgan Lemme. However, the Cossacks were unable to get any more runs home and the Huskies took a 7-4 lead into the sixth.
Sioux Valley kept the Huskies off the board in the top of the sixth and then were able to push three runs across in the bottom of the inning. Jacobson hit a one-out single and Savana Guthmiller reached on an error to put runners on first and second. Uecker hit Jacobson home with a single and Savana Guthmiller scored on an error. Stirling was hit by a pitch to load the bases and Abby Axtell was walked to tie the game heading into the seventh.
The Cossacks got the first batter out in the seventh but then EPJ took over. Makinley Hammitt reached on an error on a bunt and Goetzinger followed with a single. Axtell was able to strike out the next batter but then walked Laney Trometer to load the bases. Hammitt scored on a passed ball and Hannah Nearman then hit a two-run double. Molly Geary followed with an RBI triple and the Cossacks trailed 11-7 heading into their final half inning of the season.
Sonnenberg said the error sparked the Huskies seventh inning and they were unable to recover.
That first [runner in the seventh] that got them going, we kind of let that hit us a little harder than we should have the rest of the inning. We tried to rely on the bats and there were some situations [not only in the seventh inning] that didnt land us any runs, Sonnenberg said.
Richarz reached on an error to begin the inning. Jacobson then hit a ground ball to the second baseman and she made a diving stop and tossed it to the shortstop who threw it to first for a double play. The Cossacks then loaded the bases but Lemme hit a pop up to the second baseman and that ended Sioux Valleys season.
Sioux Valley had eight hits as a team. Axtell was 2-for-3 with an RBI and Lemme was 1-for-5 with two RBIs. Smith was 1-for-4 with an RBI and Uecker was 1-for-2 with an RBI. Jacobson was 1-for-4. Audrey Murano was 1-for-1.
Sonnenberg said she was happy with how her team hit the ball despite not being able to score in the seventh inning.
Im really proud of the hitting today. We started a little slow, but you always start a little slower than you want, just because you want to see what that pitcher looks like. But Im very proud of all the things I saw [at the plate] today. They stayed disciplined, they stayed aggressive and there was a lot of great base running today, she said.
Lantgen pitched the first five innings for the Cossacks. She gave up seven runs, one earned, on five hits with four strikeouts and one walk. Axtell pitched the final two innings and gave up four unearned runs on four hits with one strikeout and one walk.
Lantgen is a freshman and Axtell is a sophomore. Sonnenberg said she cant wait to see what the future holds because they pitched well throughout the season.
I really relied on these two pitchers a lot this year and they showed me what they had. Im excited for whats coming in the future just because of their growth this year, Sonnenberg said.
The Cossacks had just two seniors on their team this season. Many of the players in their lineup were underclassmen and Sonnenberg said she is hoping that a trip to the SoDak 16 in the programs first season will jumpstart a lot of success next season.
This young team is very coachable and wants to learn. It sounds like we have another big class coming next year, so we just have to keep building this program with all the talent that comes in. They play a lot of summer ball and fall ball, so Im hoping they keep working on it and come back stronger than they were this year. Im really excited to see what they have in the future, Sonnenberg said.
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