(Oakland, IA) – With a first-inning rally, the Riverside Bulldogs captured a win on Friday night, beating the AHSTW Lady Vikes 10-4. While the score may not look the part, the game was one that kept you on your feet and the defense continued to shine at many moments throughout the ballgame.
Starting with that first inning of action, Riverside got off to a good start with Adaline Martens earning the first hit of the ballgame. It all continued to go up from there after Madison Kelley reached on an error and Sophia Fenner hit a single to put two runners on after the knock-in single for Riverside. Sydney Somers would eventually go on to walk and also score alongside Ayla Richardson who singled and scored as well. The scoring train didn’t stop there as Kayden Schnack crushed out a single to knock in an RBI and Elly Henderson drew a walk and would eventually score. That put the Bulldogs up 7-0 just at the start of the first inning.
We would go over the next three innings scoreless but did feature a three-pitch, three-up, three-down fourth inning for AHSTW pitcher Etta Partlow. AHSTW was able to add on some runs after a few much-needed hits in the fifth inning after the power of the Partlow’s of Etta walked and was able to get in off Graycen’s single to score the first run of the game. Graycen would eventually score herself off Loreli Wahling’s double to put the game at 7-2.
Riverside would seal the deal in the bottom of the fifth inning after adding on three more runs, led by Richardson, Perkins, and Peyton Schafer who hit a double. The fifth inning for Riverside was where things looked to be sealed in their direction with a 10-2 lead heading into the top of the sixth. The top of the seventh is where AHSTW started to get some more runs on the board with a key single by Graycen Partlow to score Addison Carroll and the double followed by Wahling that eventually put Riverside at their 10-4 victory.
The Bulldogs started with a strong first inning, something that excites Head Coach Lacie Patterson on their strength headed into games.
Friday’s player of the game was Bulldog Ayla Richardson who went 3-4 at the plate with two doubles, a single, and three RBIs. She is a versatile player, especially in the outfield, and was one of the stars of the show on Friday night.
Another key player for Riverside in their win was pitcher Peyton Schafer who threw the whole ballgame while allowing six hits on one earned run. She only walked three batters and struck out a total of 13 batters on the night for the Bulldogs.
This was a tough first week of softball action for Riverside to start the season. They were able to capture their first game against Missouri Valley 1-0. In the second game, they fell to West Monona in eight innings 7-6, and then Audubon 10-0. This young team got back on track and they look to go back at it again on Monday.
Riverside now sits at 2-2 on the season while AHSTW was issued their first loss with an 0-1 overall record.
(Click below to listen to this article)
