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The West Central Area softball team won a five-inning contest against Brandon-Evansville on Tuesday night, defeating the Chargers 11-1. “This was a tough opening game against a solid West Central team,” explained B-E Head Coach Kasi Sieling. “Unfortunately, we gave them too many free bases with walks and hit batters, and an aggressive base running team like WCA took advantage of our young infield.”
The lady Knights put 7 runs on the board in the bottom of the second inning, added a single run in the third, two more in the fourth and a final run in the fifth. WCA had only 4 hits in the game, but capitalized on 9 walks.
“It was fun to get on the field and finally have a game on a beautiful night,” said West Central Area Head Coach Vanessa McNamara. “Our team had some learning to do on the fly as we haven't been outside much. The kids did an amazing job taking the game in stride and making adjustments where needed. The Chargers are very well coached and we knew we would have to make minimal errors as they are a team that makes you pay for them. They are aggressive on the bases and capable of good hitting. Lily did wonderful in the circle and Addison was tough behind the plate. Our outfield was clutch with backups and there when we needed them. Overall for our first game, we are thrilled with the learning that happened. We look forward to our first conference game on Thursday against Sauk Centre. It will be a good game as they are tough.”
Alaina Sykora (1-2, 2B, RBI, 2R, 2BB, 2SB), Addison Staples (1-2, 2RBI, SF), Mya Foslien (1-2, 2RBI, R) and Lily Mahoney (1-1, 2RBI) each had a hit, while Nora Anderson and Brinley Ulrich each walked twice. Anderson also scored a pair of runs. Izzy Puchalski scored twice, drove in a run, walked once and stole a base. Mahoney (5IP, 1H, 1R, 0ER, 4BB, 11K) was the winning pitcher.
“We played this game without a senior on the field and 4 players getting their varsity debut and I was happy to see how they responded to different situations that we got into,” noted Coach Sieling. “Our fielders did a nice job of making the plays when the ball was put in play.”
Madeline Stich had the lone hit for Brandon-Evansville. Mia Elmer, Drea Fernholz and Ava Santjer each stole a base.
"Offensively, we struggled to feel comfortable in the box and find our groove to get something going,” added Coach Sieling. “We were able to get runners on in a couple innings, but just couldn’t bring them in. Overall, we learned a lot from this game and know what we need to do to improve. I look forward to seeing how these girls improve from here.”