(Atlantic) Atlantic advances to the semifinals in the Class 3A Region 4 Softball Tournament on Wednesday with a 6-4 win over Shenandoah.
The Trojans scored six runs on 10-hits; the Fillies scored four on six hits. Zoey Kirchhoff picked up the win for Atlantic. The 8th grader pitched seven complete innings striking out ten batters and walking six. Jenna Burdorf took the loss for Shenandoah. The sophomore struck out two hitters and walked one.
“Shenandoah is well coached and made the plays they needed to make,” said Atlantic Head Coach Terry Hinzmann. “I thought our defense played well except for one little miscue. Zoey fell behind in the count, and our defense picked it up, and then settled in with ten strikeouts.”
Shenandoah grabbed a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Jenna Burdorf and Lynnae Green reached base on back-to-back walks and raced home on Reese Spiegel’s two RBI single. in the bottom of the first Ava Rush poked an infield single and scored on Jada Jensen’s ground ball to narrow the gap 2-1.
The turning point in the game came in the second inning. Ava Bruckner and Maddie Huddleson stroked back-to-back singles, Zoey Kirchhoff reached base on an error, and all three scored to go up 4-2. The Fillies plated one run in the top of the third to bring the visitors within a run. But that didn’t last long; Jada Jensen drilled a triple to lead off the bottom of the frame and scored on Malena Woodward’s ground ball to give the home team a two-run cushion. Atlantic plated runs in the fifth and sixth innings, and Shenandoah plated a run in the top of the seventh with no outs. Kirchhoff dug in and retired the final three batters to secure the 6-4 win.
“I thought our approaches at the plate were good,” said Coach Hinzmann. “Jada Jensen was disappointed with her strikeout but adjusted nicely and laced a triple into right centerfield, and that was huge for us.”
Ava Rush, Maddie Huddleson, and Claire Pellett led the Trojans with two hits, Jada Jensen drilled a triple, and Riley Wood, Malena Woodward, and Ava Bruckner each hit singles.
“All in all, it was a good outing for our girls, and we look forward to Saturday,”
added Hinzmann.
Brooklen Black, Jenna Burdorf, Caroline Rogers, Sara Morales, and Reese Spiegel hit singles for Shenandoah.
Atlantic hosts Clarinda on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. in a Region 4 semifinal. The winner plays either Williamsburg or Chariton in a Regional Final on Wednesday.
