Game one saw the Chargers fall behind 4-0 in the first inning.  They put seven runs on the board in the second to take the lead and never relinquished it, although, the Arrows battled back to with 8-7 after 3 innings.  A 5-run fifth and a 13-run explosion in the sixth enabled B-E to run away with the win.  Brandon-Evansville showed great patience at the plate, drawing a total of 20 walks.

“Once again it took us a bit to find our rhythm in the game, but once we did we were able to continue to move runners around,” commented Coach Sieling. “Gracie Fuller (5.1IP, 3H, 7ER, 15BB, 5K) did a nice job of continuing to battle in the circle and make adjustments to find the strike zone and let her defense work behind her. Offensively I thought we did a nice job of making adjustments, finding strikes to hit hard and taking advantage of what we were given.” 

Offensive leaders for B-E were Hallie Richter (4-4, 5R, 3SB, 2BB), Drea Fernholz (2-5, 2RBI, 4R, BB, SB), Mia Elmer (2-5, 2B, SB, 5RBI, 2R, BB), Fuller (2-4, 3B, SB, 2RBI, 2R, BB) and Claire Boesl (2-4, SB, RBI, 2R, 2BB).  Madi Stich, Tahira Schaffran and Ava Santjer each scored 3 runs.  Santjer drove in 3, while Schaffran and Stich each knocked in two.

Leaders for Ashby were Ayden Behrens (1-2, 2B, RBI, 2R, 2BB), Ava Koep (1-4, RBI, R, BB) and Ella Mickelson (1-1, 3BB, R).  Laila Schroeder drove in a pair of runs and walked twice.  Kaitlyn Finkelson, Chloe Finkelson and Adelynn Lee each picked up a RBI, and Lee walked 3 times.

An 8 run third inning provided Ashby with an 8-1 lead in game two, however, B-E rallied to cut the lead to 9-7 after five innings and pushed across 4 runs in the sixth to post the 11-9 win.  The chargers were led by Schaffran (2-3, RBI, R, SB), Santjer (2-3, RBI, 2R, SB), Elmer (1-3, RBI, 2R, 2SB), Fernholz (1-4, RBI, R, 2B, SB), Richter (1-3. 3R, 2SB), Boesl (1-4, 2RBI) and Mia Fuller (1-2, RBI, SB).

“Mia Fuller (6IP, 5H, 9R, 3ER, 7BB, 3K) did an outstanding job throwing strikes as well as fielding her position to get outs,” noted Seiling. “We gave up one big inning where we weren’t able to get the outs where we needed to, giving them lots of free bases and extra opportunities. I am very proud of the fight these girls showed to continue to battle back and chip away at Ashby’s lead and eventually overcome it. Every player in our lineup contributed to this comeback win and it was great to see how they responded to adversity in this game this early in the season. With 2 outs and no runners on in the bottom of the 6th our batters stayed disciplined to rally and take the lead and then were able to close it out with solid defense in the top of the 7th.” 

Top hitters for Ashby in game two were Schroeder (2-4, RBI, R), Kaitlyn Finkelson (1-1, WRBI, R), Chloe Finkelson (1-3, RBI, R), Lee (1-2, RBI, R, 2BB) and Mia Thompson (2RBI, R, BB).