(Harlan) KSOM will air Kuemper Catholic at Harlan softball on Thursday. The game is scheduled to start at approximately 7:30.
Harlan picked up a 13-1 win over Kuemper Catholic the last time these teams played, but as Cyclone coach Toshia Kasperbauer points out that was the first game of the season and a lot can change in a couple of weeks. “They have five hitting over .300 and one over .400. I know they are using a couple of pitchers that are pretty close to the same amount of innings. The first time we saw both of them.”
Harlan’s pitching has been stout in recent outings. They’ve held four straight opponents to one or no runs. Tianna Kasperbauer and Emily Brouse each have an ERA under 2.00. “I’m confident going with both of them in the circle. The biggest question sometimes is when to change.” Kasperbauer says, “With both these two I have an advantage because they are not against each other, they are for each other. It doesn’t matter who I use in the circle, I don’t have the other one moping around, griping, or anything like that.”
Kasperbauer has struck out 26 batters in her last two starts while Brouse threw a two-hitter with 10 K’s in her most recent outing. A very capable lineup backs them up. Harlan has a .308 team average with eight home runs. Julia Schechinger has stood out statistically with a .489 average, two homers, four doubles, and 19 RBI.
Harlan has won four straight games after back-to-back losses against ranked opponents Atlantic and Underwood. For example, against Atlantic in an extra innings loss, “We got up 4-0 and were kind of settling in and you can’t settle in. You still have to go strong, you have to try to add more runs, play defense like you are supposed, and you have to battle for a full seven innings. I really think the girls have stepped up with that. We’ve scored a lot of the innings in the last few games we’ve played. That’s what we want to do and we want to keep that streak going.”
Harlan’s win over Denison-Schleswig on Tuesday moved their record to 13-5. Kuemper Catholic is 10-7. The Knights have won seven of their last ten games.
