Sports
Lady Cougars' Offense Explodes in Big Win
The Lutheran St. Charles softball team knocks off Rosati-Kain on Tuesday.
Two-strong innings greatly aided the Lady Cougars softball team’s cause in an AAA Conference contest against the Rosati-Kain Kougars on Tuesday.
Although the game was back and forth in the early innings, the Lady Cougars (2-6, 1-2) earned an 8-4 victory over the Kougars (4-4, 1-2).
The contest was tied up at one, two, and three runs in the first three innings. The fourth inning proved to be a turning point, as an unearned run in the fourth gave the Cougars (2-6, 1-2) a 4-3 advantage. Just minutes later, Kelsey Brannon’s one-run single made the score 5-3.
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“We scored more runs in this game than in any of our other games,” Lutheran head coach Jon Bernhardt said. “Our bats finally came alive. It was one of the emphasis I had for the girls after the game. We came through with the right hits when we needed them. Up until this point we haven’t gotten the hits when we needed them. Today that was the difference.”
Rosati-Kain cut Lutheran’s lead to 5-4 in the fifth courtesy of a one-run single from catcher Kate Kesser, but the Kougars couldn’t sustain the momentum. A one-run single from Lutheran’s Mel Derrington made the score 6-4 and Sami Liefer’s two-run double added even more cushion to the Cougars’ lead.
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“That was the key we had been talking about,” Bernhardt said on Liefer’s key hit. “You have to get the hits when the runners are on base and Sami came through.”
Rosati-Kain Coach Meredith White said she was pleased with the way her team played.
“I think we played a solid seven innings,” she said. “We really did fine at bat but the one inning really changed the whole game. It was really close in the beginning.”
Lutheran pitcher Rachel Tharp faced just three batters in the sixth. She struck out one batter and the Cougar’s defense easily handled a routine fly-ball and a routine ground-ball. The Kougars’ offense produced just one hit in the seventh, as Kesser singled. Kesser led Rosati-Kain’s offense, as she went 4-for-4 with two singles, a double, and a triple. White credited Kesser with a good game.
The Kougars banged out eight hits against Tharp. Lutheran had 11 hits. Rosati-Kain started Katherine Leahy on the mound. Anna Henderson relieved Leahy in the fourth.