Above: Grayce Kortuem checks home plate after competing an out at first.
After the varsity girls' 10-1 loss to host Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial on Tuesday, head coach Mike Barten reminded the Clippers to not let their 0-4 start drag them down.
But Barten wasn’t overly concerned. After all, the Clippers know they have played solid softball against some of the toughest teams in the area.
“I say it just to make sure the girls know that we have faith in them,” Barten said. “The competition has been unbelievable. Now we’re going to play some teams that we can play with, not that we couldn’t play with the teams we have already faced. So we have to reemphasize to stay strong and stay together.”
On a cold, windy Lake Crystal diamond, the Clippers went three up, three down four times before Cassandra Connor broke the drought with a one-out single.
The Clippers’ only run came in in the sixth when top-of-the-order Sophie Shouler hit a two-out double. She barreled headfirst into third for the steal before Emily Kern, following up, batted her in with a double.
The Knights jumped off to a 5-0 start in the bottom of the first on four hits, a walk and an error. Kern, who threw all six innings, didn’t allow another hit until the fifth, but the Knights added another run in the fourth after the runner reached first on an error, stole second, advanced to third on a ground out and scored on a sacrifice fly
One more LCWM run scored in the fifth on double and an RBI single. The Knights walked off with a win in the sixth on five-straight hits, an intentional walk and, with the Clipper outfield in, a single to centerfield.
Besides Connor, Shouler and Kern, no other Clipper got on base. The Clippers struck out five times.
While the Knights continued their strong pitching tradition, Barten knows the Clippers have to put some spark into their bats if they are going to be successful.
“They need to have the mindset and go in with a touch of attitude. They need to have a plan, and I think that is where we are struggling a little bit. They are not thinking about what exactly needs to be done: be quick with their hands and start driving the ball.”
Kern gave up a dozen hits, walked two and struck out three. The Clippers committed three errors, not bad considering the playing conditions, Barten said.
“I thought we had pretty good defense. They had pretty good speed, top to bottom, but we threw out two at second and held a runner at third on a lookback. I like our defense. Now we've just got to get some hitting.”
With no JV game, all most of the 14 Clippers on hand got in the game, and Barten said he is still trying to figure out the best formula.
“Assistant coaches Sandi Hollerich and Rich Kern are helping with that.”
The Clippers are back in action next Tuesday when they travel to St. Clair.
The Clippers caught a couple of runners trying to take second. Here, shortstop Sophie Shouler reaches for a tag.
Center fielder Emma Sweere reaches for a catch.
After 13-straight Clipper outs, Cassandra Connor dropped in a hit.
Kaylee Karels reaches down for a grounder to left field.