(Clarinda) The Clarinda softball team scored five runs in the second inning and five more in the sixth to defeat Atlantic 10-7 in a Class 3A Regional Semifinal at Clarinda on Saturday.
The Cardinals tallied ten runs on 11 hits. Jersey Knight, Annika Price, and Addison Wagoner led the team with two hits each. Price hit a double and a triple and contributed four RBIs. Wagoner hit singles and drove in a run, while Knight hit a double and a single and scored two runs.
Atlantic scored seven runs on nine hits. Zoey Kirchhoff went two for three at the plate with a single and a two-run homer. Claire Pellett hit a double and a single, and Lila Wiederstein belted a pair of singles to lead the Trojans.
Mallory Woods picked up the win in the circle. The freshman struck out two and walked two in seven innings of work for the Cardinals. Riley Wood struck out one batter and walked two more for the Trojans.
Clarinda Head Coach Brad Knight praised Woods for a job well done in the circle.
In the bottom of the second inning, the Cardinals sent nine batters to the plate, scoring five runs on five hits, forcing the Trojans to play catchup for the rest of the game. Ryplee Sunderman, Annika Price, and Addison Wagoner accounted for the five RBIs. Sunderman and Price hit two RBI doubles, and Wagoner hit an RBI single for the 5-0 lead.
Atlantic pitcher Riley Wood settled in and retired eight straight batters, and the Trojans began to chip away at the lead with one run in the fourth and three more runs in the fifth, closing the gap to 5-4. Zoey Kirchhoff hit a single and scored in the fourth. Pellett hit a two-bagger, Wiederstein knocked one through for a single, and Kirchhoff blasted a two-run homer in the fifth, closing the gap to a single run.
But the Cardinals responded at the bottom of the sixth inning with five runs on five hits and opened up a 10-4 lead. Atlantic made a run at in the top of the seventh with three runs on two hits, but the mountain was too steep to climb, falling short 10-7.
Atlantic Head Coach Terry Hinzmann commented on the game and his six seniors: Makayla Atkinson, Avery Knuth, Avery Nicolas, Claire Pellett, Callie Pellett, and Riley Wood.
Cardinals now (33-7) travel to (23-4) PCM for a Regional Final on Tuesday night. Atlantic finishes the 2024 campaign at (27-13).
