(Anita, IA) – The CAM Cougars (5-2) were able to battle back in the fifth and sixth innings and capture a victory over the Lenox Tigers (5-8) on a windy Thursday evening 6-4.
At the top of the first inning, CAM pitcher Ailey Wahlert was able to throw a three-up three-down inning with two strikeouts to start off the ballgame. When the Cougars came up to the plate, they were able to stay disciplined and it started with Keely Kinney who singled to start things off on the bases. Kaitlyn Platt flew out to score Kinney from third and Emma Follman was able to reach on an error while both Ailey Wahlert and Courtney Follmann each walked. Daphna Wahlert then knocked out a double to score two runs to push CAM to a 4-0 lead to end the bottom of the first.
When Lenox came back to bat in the top of the second inning, shortstop Sadie Cox launched a solo homer over the left-field wall to bring her team within three. That home run would be crucial when it came to the fifth inning. Both teams would go hitless in both the third and fourth innings to push things into the fifth.
Lenox would start off the top of the fifth inning with a lineout by Izzy Curtis to bring up Hadlee Christensen to the plate. She would push out a single that was followed by a double from Zoey Reed to push her teammate home and bring the game within two. After Reese Reed was able to get safe at first base on a fielder’s choice, Sadie Cox came up once again and launched a double toward left field to score both Zoey and Reese Reed to tie things up at 4-4.
The bottom of the fifth inning is where things got interesting. CAM started things off with back-to-back singles from Keely Kiney and Emma Follmann to put runners on the bases with no outs. After the groundout for Kaitlyn Platt, Ailey Wahlert would hit a sac fly to score Kinney and give the Cougars the advantage once again.
After Lenox went scoreless with one single in the top of the sixth, CAM came in the bottom of the sixth and knocked in another run after three singles by Jenna Platt, Keely Kinney, and Daphna Wahlert to solidify their lead over Lenox. The Tigers tried battling in the seventh inning as Zoey Reed hit a short single through the right-center gap to get one runner on with no outs. From there, Reese Reed hit into a 5-3 groundout, Piper Brokaw hit a lineout to first, and Sadie Cox hit into foul territory that was caught by Kristina James for the final out of the ballgame.
Co-Head Coach Jeni Follmann credits the team’s success to the girl’s confidence at the plate as the bats were rolling just when they needed them to.
CAM’s success came on the defensive side of the softball Thursday evening with eighth-grader Ailey Wahlert in the circle as she continued to push the Tigers into tough counts while challenging them at the plate. In the game, she threw a total of 10 strikeouts and only allowed five hits in the ballgame. Co-Head Coach Layne Kinney knows that the eighth-grader can perform beyond expectations and any batter is going to have a tough time against the ace.
This win helps continue the momentum for the Cougars moving forward after earning back-to-back victories. Coach Kinney credits these girls for all pitching in and doing their job.
With such a small team this season, it helps to build great team chemistry. These girls are a mixture of underclassmen and seniors who are working toward one common goal, to win. The trust has been a success for CAM as they all trust in one another to get the job done, just as they did against Lenox.
The Cougars will face off against Coon Rapids-Bayard on Friday while Lenox takes on Southwest Valley, both of which are conference matchups for the two teams.
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