Knights clinch a share of the conference title
The week was kind to the Cornell-Lake Holcombe Knights Softball team, with the race for the conference title on the line.
June 1 vs. Northwood-Solon Springs conference (W 1-0)
Hosting the other team atop the conference, the Knights faced off against Northwood-Solon Springs in a battle for the league crown. The clash would only see three hits in the game, coming from the Knights, who would also score only one run to take the shutout win.
Senior Izzy Clark pitched a perfect seven innings, recording a no-hitter for the Knights and striking out 13. On the offensive side, sophomore Michayla Turchen, and freshmen Grace Harycki and Makya Heatherington each tallied a hit.
June 4 vs. Flambeau conference (W 11-0)
Heading to Flambeau, it was understood that if the Knights were the victors, they would earn a share of the conference crown.
“The game in Flambeau started out slow, but our bats warmed up as the game went on,” said coach Andy Lorenzen. “We were able to have a couple good innings to give us some breathing room.”
There was no score throughout the opening innings, but the Knights came alive in the third, putting up five runs. Neither team scored in the fourth inning. The Knights struck again in the fifth, adding another run, and again in the sixth, for five more runs.
The Falcons couldn’t put more than three hits on the board against Clark, and the game went to the Knights, 11-0. With the win, the Knights became co-champions of the East Lakeland Conference.
Clark continued to rack up strikeouts, punching the cards of 12 batters, while notching a hit on the offensive side.
Senior Michaiah Galster led the team with 2 hits, while Heatherington, Harycki, senior Alyssa Helland, juniors Jayda Turchen and Teaira Spaeth, and freshman Brooke Anderson, all added a hit.
June 5 vs. Chetek-Weyerhaeuser non-conference (W 9-7)
Taking a breather, the Knights stepped out of the conference to travel to Chetek-Weyerhaeuser, where the Knights again started slow, but jumped to a 9-1 lead going into the seventh inning.
“It was extremely hot and we started to break down defensively, allowing the winning run to come to the plate in the seventh,” said Lorenzen. “We were able to dig deep and get the final out.”
Walking away with the 9-7 lead, Clark went seven innings, allowing 11 hits and striking out 4. She also recorded a hit for the offense.
Anderson and Harycki led with 2 hits, followed by J. Turchen and senior Kaitlyn Heinzen.
“Our younger girls really stepped up during that game,” said Lorenzen, adding that Harycki, Anderson, Heatherington and M. Turchen, were able to put together productive at-bats and get some key hits. “We are still improving going forward into the playoff season.”
The co-champs now sit at 14-3 overall and 9-1 in league play.
