BROOKINGS The Brookings softball team saw its season come to a close on Tuesday evening as the Bobcats lost 16-6 to OGorman in the Class A SoDak 16 at the Southbrook Softball Complex.
OGorman had 20 hits in the win and Brookings head coach Emma Hardin felt like the Knights coming ready to hit the ball was the difference in the game.
OGorman came with their bats ready to go. They jumped out right away in the first inning and scored two runs. Their hitters were on the plate and they were ready to hit. They hit gaps right away to start the game and then continued on with that throughout the game, Hardin said.
The Knights struck for two runs in the first inning. Sonia Deckert led off the game with a double and then scored on an error. Mary Koch reached on that error and then scored on a Vada Ellerbusch single to make it 2-0.
OGorman scored two more runs in the third inning. Koch hit a one-out single. Ellerbusch then came to the plate with two outs and hit the ball over the left field fence to push the lead to 6-0.
The Knights then broke the game open in the top of the fourth with six runs. Allie Hermsen hit a single to lead off the inning and Maddie Jones reached on a fielders choice to put two runners on. Each runner then scored on an error with two outs. Ellerbusch hit an RBI double and then Kappel hit a three-run home run on a line drive over the center field fence to make it 10-0.
Brookings got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the inning and scored four runs. Tess Burns led things off with a single and Layla Erickson hit a one-out single to put two runners on. Burns scored on a Ramsie Hinricher double and both Erickson and Hinricher scored on a double from Kinzey Grendler. Grendler then scored on an error to make it 10-4 heading into the fifth.
OGorman got two of those runs back in the top of the fifth. Hermsen led off the inning with a double and Zoey Bathke reached on an error. Both runners would then score on a double from Deckert to make it 12-4.
Ella Pysk came to the plate with one out in the bottom of the inning and hit it over the center field fence to cut the lead to 12-5. Kendal Linstad and Reece Christianson hit back-to-back singles with two outs but the Bobcats were unable to score any more runs in the fifth.
The Knights scored two more runs in the top of the sixth. Ellerbusch led off with a single and Kappel followed with a double. Each runner then scored on a Ryann Winterboer single to push the lead to 14-5.
The OGorman lead reached double digits in the top of the seventh. Deckert led off with a double and then scored on a single from Kinsely Sheridan. Sheridan made her way to third on a double from Ellerbusch and then scored on a single from Kappel.
The Bobcats were able to score one more run in the final half inning of their season. Pysk and Erickson hit back-to-back singles to lead off the half inning. Pysk then scored on a passed ball to make the final 16-6.
Brookings had 12 hits in the game but Hardin said the Bobcats just werent able to string those hits together to create a lot of runs.
To start the game we just didnt make adjustments soon enough. We were under the ball and the pitcher had some up-spin with her rise ball and we were just under everything. We were putting the bat on the ball but just were not making solid contact. Towards the middle of the game we were starting to get some hits and I just felt like we had quick at bats and werent always making good use of our at bats and the count. We had a home run from Ella Pysk and some other girls hit the ball up the middle, which was good to see, but we just could not string hits together to get us going, Hardin said.
Grendler was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and Pysk was 2-for-2 with an RBI. Hinricher was 1-for-2 with an RBI and Erickson was 2-for-3. Christianson and Linstad were each 1-for-2 and Foerster and Kymber Buys were each 1-for-3.Burns was 1-for-4.
Burns got the start for Brookings and pitched four and a third innings. She gave up 10 runs, three earned, on 10 hits with two strikeouts and no walks. Pysk pitched the final two and two thirds innings, giving up seven runs, five earned, on 10 hits with three strikeouts and no walks.
Brookings finished the season with a record of 11-8. This was the second year in-a-row that the Bobcats lost in the SoDak 16.
The Bobcats will graduate six seniors in Burns, Buys, Morgan Norgaard, Addy Bortnem, Keisha Cushing and Quinn Kurtenbach. Hardin said that even though the senior class had a lot of talent, she appreciated the way that her seniors led the rest of the team.
That senior class, they were leaders. Im going to remember most how much they loved the game and how much they loved each other. They came with energy to practice and had a drive to get better. They were also teachers of the game. They wanted to help the underclassmen, especially with such a big freshman class this year. Our senior class really took charge and took a leadership teacher role and showed them what Bobcat softball is all about, Hardin said.
Brookings will still have plenty of talent returning and Hardin said she hopes that her team learned this season that every game is long and you cant get too high or too low.
Overall our season, we really had some ups and downs. We had a winning record to end the season, which was positive, and we won some great games. We need to remember as a team and I hope that we can take away as a team that seven innings is a long time and a lot can happen. One swing of the bat, one strike, one aggressive tag can change the game. We just need to remember to play out all seven innings and attack each pitch with intent, Hardin said.
Leave a Reply