The Dike-New Hartford softball team won handily over Aplington-Parkersburg, and the Falcon and Wolverine baseball teams split a doubleheader Monday in Parkersburg. In a game that aired on 99 The Wave, the Wolverine softball team won 15-3 in three innings. Dike-New Hartford won the first baseball game 9-2 and the Falcons bounced back for a 5-3 win in the nightcap.
In the softball game, the Wolverines scored 12 runs and had 15 plate appearances before the first out of the game was recorded. Among the highlights of the inning, Faith Gray hit a base-clearing double with the bases loaded to take a 5-0 lead. Karsyn Nolan singled to drive in two runs for a 9-0 lead. Payton Nolan drove in two runs on a triple for an 11-0 lead. In the last scoring play of the top of the first, Kiersten Christiansen singled to drive in two runs for a 14-0 lead. Jordan Trueblood drove in AP’s first run in the bottom of the first. Eva Walker and Ada Switzer each had RBIs in the second inning to complete the scoring. Wolverine Head Coach Tianna Butteris was proud of the team’s quick start after a tough weekend.
“We kind of had a little bit tougher of a weekend where we weren’t very productive at the plate,” Butteris says. “So to see them come out and be ready right away and just really put their foot on the gas was great, to see them make those adjustments early. That’s what I’ve been wanting to see for a while now, so I’m glad that it’s starting to click now. Anytime you can put 15 runs up on anybody, that’s just going to be a huge confidence boost. And it was not just a couple girls, it was one through nine plus the other girls that got opportunities as well, that got to have productive at-bats and be part of that. So it’s good to see that we’ve got more than just nine that we can go to if we need to in the future.”
Gray and Christiansen each drove in three runs. Karsyn Nolan, Hannah Steffen, Madde Buskohl and Christiansen each had two hits. Gray pitched the complete game with five strikeouts and no walks with seven hits allowed. Ada Switzer and Kendall Riherd each had two hits for the Falcons. AP (4-8, 2-5 NICL-C) will host Denver Wednesday. DNH (9-5, 5-1 NICL-C) will host Wapsie Valley Wednesday.
Interview with DNH Coach Tianna Butteris:
Interview with DNH Senior Payton Nolan:
Interview with AP Coach Emily Williamson:
In the first baseball game, the Wolverines drove in eight runs in the top of the fifth inning to extend their lead to 9-0. The Falcons rallied with one run apiece in the sixth and seventh but got no closer. In Game 2, AP capitalized late in a back-and-forth battle. The Wolverines scored once in the second, but AP answered to take a 2-1 lead after three. After DNH scored twice to take a 3-2 lead after the fourth, the Falcons tied the game in the fifth. In the bottom of the sixth, Tate Neymeyer hit a double that turned into an inside the park home run, driving in two runs to complete the scoring. AP Head Coach Brett Kleespies.
“First game, like at Dike, dug ourselves a hole and it’s kind of same situation here, we just had an inning where we just couldn’t get out of it,” Kleespies says.
“Second game, just kind of changed the mindset. When Devin’s on the mound, the defense kind of always changes its mindset a little bit. We flushed it, that’s the biggest thing. We told them after the first game that they had to put the effort there. So they kind of rebounded and had some good at-bats. Sully and Tate had good at-bats, and then a heck of a catch out in center field there to get that out. It’s always good to get a win over Dike-New Hartford, and you know, they feel the same way about us.”
AP (8-4, 5-3 NICL-C) will host Belle Plaine Tuesday. DNH (8-3, 5-2 NICL-C) will host Clear Lake Tuesday.
Interview with AP Senior Devin Davis:
Interview with AP Coach Brett Kleespies:
