Local Sports

Jun 10, 2017

T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE BCLUW second baseman Samantha Ubben, left, gives chase as Marshalltowns Bridget Carroll breaks for third during the second inning of Fridays game at the BCLUW Comet Softball Invitational Tournament in Conrad. Carroll advanced to third base safely and eventually scored, but the Bobcats fell to the host Comets, 4-3.

CONRAD Ten days after leading the BCLUW girls golf team at the Class 2A state tournament, Lauren Anderson gave the Comet softball team a boost, too.

Anderson drove in the go-ahead run with her two-out single in the bottom of the sixth inning and then worked around a pair of singles in the seventh, helping the newly ranked Comets hold off Marshalltown 4-3 in Friday nights BCLUW Comet Invitational Tournament.

Andersons single through the right side of the infield glanced off Bobcat second baseman Bridget Carrolls glove, allowing Easton Swanson to score from second as the ball trickled onto the outfield grass. Finally finding the fairway after grounding out twice to the right side earlier in the game, Andersons hit put the Comets on top to stay.

We just battled, said BCLUW head coach Dave Lee. It was a grunt game.

Marshalltown (0-12) made as much noise as possible without scratching out the tying run in the top of the seventh. Leadoff batter Regan Mazour reached with a one-out bunt single, Madi Finch lined a single to left, and McKaylee Dawson moved them both into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt.

T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE Marshalltowns Bridget Carroll, right, slides head-first into home plate around the tag attempt by BCLUW catcher Kate Goecke during the second inning of Fridays softball game in Conrad.

MHS freshman Erica Johnson, already with one run-scoring single in the game, popped out to BCLUW second baseman Samantha Ubben in shallow center field to end the game.

Lauren did a good job sticking with it when it didnt seem we wanted to support her very much, said Lee.

The Bobcats showed plenty of mettle in playing stride-for-stride with the 15th-ranked Comets (11-4), but one costly error early in the contest may have changed the outcome.

Carrolls leadoff single in the second led to the games first run. Ciara Feldman sacrificed her over to second, and Carroll managed to avoid a rundown in safely advancing to third. Emily Hass struck out on a pitch that escaped Kate Goeckes glove, and the throw down to first base gave Carroll just enough time to sneak home ahead of the return throw.

Theyre athletic and they play in a 5A league, said Lee. They can defend and they can play. They put the ball down against and we didnt always react, but thats good for our kids.

T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE Marshalltowns Regan Mazour, left, slides safely into third base under the tag by Sara Sharp with a stolen base in the fifth inning of their game Friday in Conrad. Mazour was 4-for-4 with two stolen bases, but the Bobcats lost 4-3.

Its really good for us to be able to learn those lessons and still win. We dont have to beat anybody bad, we just have to win.

BCLUW countered in kind, playing its style of small-ball to perfection. Swanson started with a leadoff walk, and Goecke doubled to right-center just out of Ciara Feldmans reach. Sara Sharps bunt plated Swanson without a play, but the throw to first base eluded Finch and flew down the right-field line. Goeckes courtesy runner Kiersten Kruse chased Swanson across the plate, and Olivia Hughes drove in Sharp with a grounder one out later.

We knew they were a small-ball team and they were, and they executed it pretty well, said MHS head coach Jim Palmer, and we failed to execute it, too. You can practice it all you want but until you get into a game and execute, its not the same. Sometimes tonight we just failed to make some of the plays.

Marshalltown had the answer, settling the table with back-to-back bunt singles by Aspen Chadderdon and Mazour. Two outs later, Johnson singled to right field to plate Chadderdon, and Mazour scored when Hughes throw from right field skipped past Jordyn Beeghly at first.

This was a good learning experience for us, said Lee. Marshalltown plays the game well, they just play in a league where they cant win.

T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE

Both teams missed opportunities to score before BCLUW eventually took the lead for good. Marshalltown popped up a bunt that turned into an inning-ending double play in the top of the fourth, and the Comets did the same in the bottom of the fifth.

It was one of a number of chances that got away from the Bobcats. Mazour singled and Finch walked to start the fifth, but Anderson got a pair of strikeouts and a groundout to escape the jam. Anderson finished with eight strikeouts and that one walk, scattering 10 hits across seven innings as well as can be done.

We left a lot of runners on base, said Palmer. Twice we had runners on third and second with one out. Twice we asked for someone to execute a bunt and unfortunately we just didnt get it done.

Dawson (0-7) allowed six hits and three walks, striking out three in the loss. Mazour finished 4-for-4 with two stolen bases but was left stranded three times. Finch, Johnson, Carroll, Feldman, Hass and Chadderdon accounted for the Bobcats other six singles.

[Dawson] did pretty good, Palmer said. She had a tough time finding the [strike] zone, but once she adjust to it she did a pretty good job. She wasnt getting ahead of batters and once she worked to get ahead in the count, then she was having much more success.

Goecke had two of BCLUWs six hits, while Leah Yantis, Bailey Ashton, Sharp and Anderson also singled.

Both teams return to action in BCLUWs tournament today. At 10 a.m., the Comets face Cedar Falls while Marshalltown meets Gladbrook-Reinbeck. The Bobcats wrap up their stay in Conrad with an 11:45 a.m. game against Sumner-Fredericksburg. BCLUW returns to the diamond for the tournament finale at 3:15 p.m. against 3A No. 13 Union Community.

BCLUW Comet Invitational

At Conrad

Fridays Games

Waterloo West 16, Gladbrook-Reinbeck 6

Sumner-Fredericksburg 5, Cedar Falls 4

BCLUW 4, Marshalltown 3

Saturdays Games

10 a.m. BCLUW vs. Cedar Falls; Marshalltown vs. Gladbrook-Reinbeck

11:45 a.m. Marshalltown vs. Sumner-Fredericksburg; Union vs. Waterloo West

1:30 p.m. Waterloo West vs. Sumner-Fredericksburg; Cedar Falls vs. Gladbrook-Reinbeck

3:15 p.m. BCLUW vs. Union

BCLUW 4, Marshalltown 3

At Conrad

MHS 012 000 0 3 10 2

BCLUW 030 001 X 4 6 2

McKaylee Dawson and Erica Johnson; Lauren Anderson and Kate Goecke. WAnderson (6-2). LDawson (0-7). 2BBCLUW: Goecke. LOBMHS 8, BCLUW 6.

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Comets run down Bobcats, 4-3 - Marshalltown Times Republican