SHULLSBURG - Bring on Boscobel say the Redbirds.
Darlington (3-1) got some intense battle-testing in fending off Shullsburg, 5-4, on the road Monday. But the Redbirds' skipper would've like a wider margin.
"We just came out going through the motions and it caught up with us in the fifth inning when we let them get comfortable," Darlington coach Rebecca Norgard said.
The Miners cut Darlington's lead from 4-0 to 4-3 with three runs in the home half of the fifth right after the Redbirds created some space.
Kari Blosch and Shanna Foulker cracked a double and a triple back-to-back, respectively, to spur a two-run top half. Abby Schulte drew a walk and scored on a Courtney McBee single in the seventh for what proved a necessary insurance run at 5-3.
Junior Allison Taylor was solid again, striking out 11 over the distance to get her third victory and get her team fired up for tonight's SWAL game at Boscobel.
Highland 8, Argyle 0
Even the top end of the pitching machine's miles per hour couldn't prepare the Orioles for the buzzsaw they ran into at home Monday night.
Cardinals ace Lacie Pustina, a Division I college recruit, mowed down all but two Argyle batters she faced, striking out 10 and allowing just a pair of hits in a non-conference victory.
"We had (the pitching machine) cranked up to 75, but it just can't prepare you for her," Argyle coach Heidi Ganshert said.
Pustina used all four of her outstanding pitches to defeat Orioles ace Brittany Flannery, who struggled with location and walked 11. Highland padded a 1-0 lead with four runs in the third and never looked back.
Belleville 13, New Glarus 0
There was no recovering from an 8-run Wildcats second inning for the Glarner Knights.
New Glarus skipper Bob Wahl was pleased with the effort of his senior ace Keriann Schmidt, who struck out seven batters in the abbreviated 5-inning game.
"I thought she pitched very well and you feel bad for her because she has worked so hard," Wahl said.
If not for a lined base-hit to left field off the bat of fellow senior Kendra Mussehl, the Glarner Knights would have gone hitless as Belleville starter Leigh Baker was dialed in and her defense committed no errors behind her.
Three Belleville hitters collected two hits. The Knights continue a stretch of 15 games in the next 15 schooldays tomorrow night at Columbus.
Orangeville (Ill.) 10, Albany 2
Connie Wunschel was more than happy with how her Comets fared against the loaded gun that is Broncos softball.
The Albany skipper saw her club commit just four errors against the power-hitting club, which boasts just one senior, that showed the Comets how good a club can be if they lose their illusions.
"They showed our girls how it can be," Wunschel said. "It's not that they can't do it and it's not how old you are, it's what you put into it."
Three Broncos collected multiple hits and Megan Leverton slugged a home run to dead center to score one of her three runs.
Orangeville (8-2) got a solid, 4-inning start out of its No. 2 starter, Abby Lillge, who struck out eight over four innings.
Albany turns around to host Barneveld tonight in its Six Rivers East opener.
Darlington (3-1) got some intense battle-testing in fending off Shullsburg, 5-4, on the road Monday. But the Redbirds' skipper would've like a wider margin.
"We just came out going through the motions and it caught up with us in the fifth inning when we let them get comfortable," Darlington coach Rebecca Norgard said.
The Miners cut Darlington's lead from 4-0 to 4-3 with three runs in the home half of the fifth right after the Redbirds created some space.
Kari Blosch and Shanna Foulker cracked a double and a triple back-to-back, respectively, to spur a two-run top half. Abby Schulte drew a walk and scored on a Courtney McBee single in the seventh for what proved a necessary insurance run at 5-3.
Junior Allison Taylor was solid again, striking out 11 over the distance to get her third victory and get her team fired up for tonight's SWAL game at Boscobel.
Highland 8, Argyle 0
Even the top end of the pitching machine's miles per hour couldn't prepare the Orioles for the buzzsaw they ran into at home Monday night.
Cardinals ace Lacie Pustina, a Division I college recruit, mowed down all but two Argyle batters she faced, striking out 10 and allowing just a pair of hits in a non-conference victory.
"We had (the pitching machine) cranked up to 75, but it just can't prepare you for her," Argyle coach Heidi Ganshert said.
Pustina used all four of her outstanding pitches to defeat Orioles ace Brittany Flannery, who struggled with location and walked 11. Highland padded a 1-0 lead with four runs in the third and never looked back.
Belleville 13, New Glarus 0
There was no recovering from an 8-run Wildcats second inning for the Glarner Knights.
New Glarus skipper Bob Wahl was pleased with the effort of his senior ace Keriann Schmidt, who struck out seven batters in the abbreviated 5-inning game.
"I thought she pitched very well and you feel bad for her because she has worked so hard," Wahl said.
If not for a lined base-hit to left field off the bat of fellow senior Kendra Mussehl, the Glarner Knights would have gone hitless as Belleville starter Leigh Baker was dialed in and her defense committed no errors behind her.
Three Belleville hitters collected two hits. The Knights continue a stretch of 15 games in the next 15 schooldays tomorrow night at Columbus.
Orangeville (Ill.) 10, Albany 2
Connie Wunschel was more than happy with how her Comets fared against the loaded gun that is Broncos softball.
The Albany skipper saw her club commit just four errors against the power-hitting club, which boasts just one senior, that showed the Comets how good a club can be if they lose their illusions.
"They showed our girls how it can be," Wunschel said. "It's not that they can't do it and it's not how old you are, it's what you put into it."
Three Broncos collected multiple hits and Megan Leverton slugged a home run to dead center to score one of her three runs.
Orangeville (8-2) got a solid, 4-inning start out of its No. 2 starter, Abby Lillge, who struck out eight over four innings.
Albany turns around to host Barneveld tonight in its Six Rivers East opener.
