St. Croix Central softball team pounds out 21 hits in win
Every player got into the action as the St. Croix Central softball team rolled up its biggest run total of the season at Glenwood City last Thursday.
- Amanda Ruvelson
Every player got into the action as the St. Croix Central softball team rolled up its biggest run total of the season at Glenwood City last Thursday.
The Panthers pounded out 21 hits in producing a 15-3 win over the Hilltoppers. This was the first time the Panthers scored in double digits this season. Their previous high was in their first meeting with Glenwood City, when the Panthers won 9-8.
The Panthers have been on the upswing in recent games and Coach Jim Anderson suggested that was the reason for the big improvement since the last time the Panthers faced Glenwood City.
The 21 hits was also a season-high for the Panthers. Every Central player who went to bat in the game produced at least one hit. That was led by junior catcher Kalli Armagost, who had a monster game. Armagost went 5-5, including two doubles. She scored three runs and drove home four more.
Hailey Rock and Kali Lawrence each posted three hits. Amanda Ruvelson and Emily Eisenpeter each drove home three runs. Eisenpeter, getting to make a rare start, doubled twice in the win.
Panther pitcher Kelly Harrington nearly got a no-hitter in this game. Glenwood City scored runs in the first and fifth innings, but both were the result of Panther errors. It wasn’t until Glenwood City’s leadoff hitter in the sixth inning that the Hilltoppers got their lone hit in the game.
The Panthers weren’t as successful last Tuesday, when they ventured to the land of Laura Ingalls Wilder to face Pepin-Alma. The Eagles are undefeated in Dunn-St. Croix Conference play. Their only losses all season have been to a pair of prodigious programs, Middle Border Conference leader Baldwin-Woodville and undefeated Cochrane-Fountain City. The Panthers managed three hits against Pepin-Alma, losing 10-0 in six innings.
Ruvelson and Arinn DiSalvo were the only Panthers to reach base in the game. DiSalvo has stung the ball since moving into the leadoff spot and she went 2-3 against Pepin-Alma. Ruvelson also reached base twice on a single and a walk.
Loss to Boyceville
The inconsistency of the Panthers this season showed on Monday. After generating their highest run total of the season in their last game, the Panthers gave up the most runs in a conference game this season against Boyceville. Boyceville pelted the Panthers with 17 hits as the Bulldogs posted a 15-6 win.
Boyceville scored twice in the first inning. The Bulldogs followed with one of the biggest rallies the Panthers have seen this season, a seven-run second inning.
“They hit the heck out of the ball,” said Central coach Jim Anderson.
The Panthers were down, but not out. They came back with three runs in the bottom of the second inning and three more in the third inning to trim the Boyceville lead to 9-6.
That’s as close as the Panthers got. Boyceville pitcher Cansis Bodsberg shut out the Panthers over the final four innings. The Panthers did have their chances, drawing 10 walks from Bodsberg in the game, but they could only reach her for three hits.
Schedule
The Panthers play four games between Thursday and next Tuesday to wrap up their regular season and all four are conference games. The Panthers end this week with road games at Colfax Thursday and Spring Valley-Plum City on Friday. The Panthers play their final home game on Monday against Elmwood. The regular season ends with a game at Elmwood next Tuesday.
The WIAA tournament seeding will be completed this week. Coach Anderson said he was hoping the Panthers would get the sixth seed in the regional tournament bracket. He said Baldwin-Woodville and Bloomer are locks for the top two spots and it will be impossible for the Panthers to be seeded above Ellsworth, New Richmond and Osceola. That leaves the sixth seed as the best possible option for the Panthers. That would also mean Central wouldn’t have to face B-W or Bloomer in the opening round of the Division 2 tournament.
Tags: sports, panthers, softball, prep
More from around the web
RSS Feeds