After breaking a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the fifth, the varsity softball girls gave up four runs in the seventh and fell to Randolph 6-5 on Saturday in their second game of their own round-robin tournament.
Earlier in the day the Clippers lost 9-1 to Nicollet.
But the Clippers rallied in the seventh against the Rockets for two runs and had the tying run at the plate.
“We should be proud of our effort,” said head coach Mike Barten. “Randolph is a defending state champion. Going into the last inning, I said let’s push them. Let’s make them nervous, and they did that. Their confidence grew a lot today. I can’t wait to build on it.”
The Rockets, who fell 11-1 to Nicollet earlier, posted a run in the first when their leadoff got on board on a third-strike passed ball, swiped second and third in one shot and scored on a grounder.
The Clippers responded right away when leadoff Sophie Shouler (above) beat out a bunt single, moved to second and then third on stray pitches and scored on a Harley Connor grounder.
After three scoreless innings the Clippers took the lead in the fifth. Emma Sweere walked and advanced to second when Grayce Kortuem skidded a single down the left field line.
Back at the top of the order, Shouler’s hit was a replay of Kortuem’s for the RBI. Kortuem got tossed out at the plate when the Rockets recovered on a botched pickoff attempt, but Shouler stole third and made it home when the Rockets throw to third skidded off target for a 3-1 Clipper advantage.
Randolph scored a run in the sixth when they followed a walk with a pair of base hits, and taking advantage of Clipper lapses, they scored four more in the seventh.
The leadoff batter singled, moved to second on a passed ball, took third when the Clippers were indecisive with their throw and scored on a fielder’s choice when the Clippers tried to make a play at the plate on a slow roller.
Another run scored when the ball caromed off an outfield glove. With a base hit, the Rockets loaded the bases, and two runners crossed the plate on passed balls.
The Clippers didn’t roll over though. With one out, Kortuem singled and moved to second on the play when her hit got by the outfielder. Kern walked, and Connor followed with a dropped a ball into short left for two RBIs.
But with the tying run on first, the rally ended when the Clippers got caught looking on a full count.
The Clippers scattered seven hits. Shouler, Conner and Kortuem each had two singles. Ashley Connor singled in the fifth. They struck out nine times.
Emily Kern went the distance in the circle. She surrendered seven hits, walked three and struck out five. The Clippers committed two errors.
Cleveland opened the tournament against conference rival Nicollet.
Taking advantage of a double and four Clipper infield flubs, the Raiders got off to 3-0 start and never looked back. They added two more runs in the second, one in the third, two in the fourth and one in the sixth.
The Clippers’ lone run came in the sixth when Connor hit a two-out single and Laci Hollerich followed up with a double for the RBI.
The Clippers struck out a dozen times but did manage seven hits. Shouler doubled in the second. Kern singled in the first and again in the third. Lexi Waldron singled in the fifth and again in the seventh.
“The girls weren’t scared, and that was the main thing,” Barten said. They knew what Nicollet had, and they have two outstanding pitchers. Mara Hulke is probably the best pitcher in the section and definitely in the conference. We saw her early and we got hits off of her, scored a run and got some confidence. The kids getting used to the pace of play at the varsity level. We have a lot of new kids who haven’t played a lot at varsity, so this is learning on the fly, and so far I love what they’ve done.”
Kern threw all six innings. She struck out seven, gave up seven hits and issued eight walks. The Clippers totaled seven errors.
“We need to work on the hitting part, but we need some more pitching,” Barten said. “Emily pitched every inning today, and that’s hard work. When it gets hot out, we need to have more pitching. We need to have a two or a three who is ready to go. Defense wasn’t bad today. "
The Clippers are scheduled to travel to Lake Crystal on Tuesday. Despite losing their senior ace pitcher, the Knights will be tough, Barten said.
“You’ve got one and one A in Nicollet and Lake Crystal. The Knights are fundamentally sound and can put the ball in play. They’ve got a new pitcher this year, but they’re still really good.”
Lexi Waldron sets up to stop a ball hit to right field.