(Atlantic) Atlantic and St. Albert split in a Hawkeye Ten Conference softball Doubleheader at Atlantic on Tuesday. The Trojans won the first game 7-3, and the Saints grabbed the nightcap 5-3.
Riley Wood threw a one-hitter in game one for the Trojans, allowing only one earned run on one hit, striking out six and one walk. Ava Rush led the Trojans at the plate with three hits and a walk. Zoey Kirchhoff went two-for-four with a double and a single. The Trojans scored seven runs on nine hits. Anna Helton had the only hit for the Saints.
The Trojans plated three runs in the first inning, with base hits from the top of the order—Rush, Claire Pellett, and Lila Wiederstein, belted singles, and all three scored. Maddie Dvorak scored in the second to give the home team a 4-0 cushion. Lily Barnes scored for the visitors in the bottom of the third but lost sight of the Trojans, who added three runs on three hits in the bottom of the fifth to go up 5-1. Zoey Kirchhoff drilled a lead-off double and scored on an error. Claire Schroder laced a two-RBI single to put Atlantic up 7-1.
The Saints didn’t go away easily. Katelyn Hendricks and Anna Helton each scored and narrowed the Trojans’ lead to 7-3 before Wood struck out lead-off batter Kylie Wesack to end the game.
St. Albert got their bats going in the nightcap with five runs on nine hits. Ella Narmi pitched the win for the Saints. The right-hander struck out three and allowed three runs on six hits. Kierra Hochstein stroked a double and a single, Alexis Narmi drilled a double and a single, and Taylor Hendricks went two-for-two at the plate. Ava Rush had two hits to lead Atlantic, and Makenna Schroeder walloped a two-RBI single.
Atlantic scored one run in the first inning and followed with two more in the third to put the Trojans on top 3-0. However, the Saints rallied with two runs in the third and three more in the fifth while holding the home team scoreless for the final five innings.
St. Albert, now 12-7 on the season, plays Fremont-Mills on Wednesday. Atlantic, 11-10, travel to Denison on Thursday night.
