Pirates start finding their way with two straight victories

With a team filled with sophomores and freshmen, the Gilman Pirates will go through a learning process during the entire softball season. But last week, they made progress in one important aspect –– finding ways to win.

After starting out 0-2, the Pirates have won their last two games the second of which was a come-from-behind 14-12 non-conference win at Flambeau Friday. Playing in cool, misty and windy conditions, it certainly was not an ideal day to play, but Gilman made the best of it, getting seven runs and seven hits to take the lead in the sixth, which wound up being the final inning due to the conditions.

“The good thing out of this type of game is the kids figured out they can come from behind and win,” Gilman head coach Brian Phelps said. “They trailed the entire game until that sixth inning.”

The Pirates fell behind 6-0 through three innings, but got back within 6-4 in the top of the fourth and 9-7 in the top of the fifth. After the Falcons got two more in the bottom of the fifth to extend their lead to 11-7, the Pirates went to work in the sixth.

Kayleigh James started the rally with a walk, then Bryn Hendricks, Tatum Weir, Jayda Rosemeyer, Eva Kopacz, Kenlyn Kroeplin, Tychelle Duellman and James all strung together base hits to move runners around the bases and put Gilman in front 14-11. The Pirates held Flambeau to one run in the bottom half and thawed out on the way home celebrating a win. “We talk about this all the time,” Phelps said. “Hitting is contagious. It was like in the fifth inning, all of a sudden we figured it out. We got a walk and reached on an error and then Abby Chaplinski singled in two runs. Once people started getting confident and believing, we took off. We had some good, aggressive base running too. I always tell the kids if we’re aggressive and we make mistakes, I can live with that.”

Four Pirates had multi-hit games. Weir was two for four, drew a walk and scored twice. Chaplinski was two for four and had the big single in the fifth. Rosemeyer was two for three and drew a walk. Kroeplin was two for four. Kopacz and James added hits.

Weir battled through the tough conditions and, what Phelps felt was a tight strike zone, to strike out three, walk three and allow nine hits and six earned runs. It was a tough day for both teams’ pitchers as Phelps said they had to throw directly into the stiff breezes from the southeast.

The Pirates hoped to extend their win streak Tuesday, but their Eastern Cloverbelt doubleheader at Spencer was postponed to May 9. Gilman has a tough matchup with league contender Loyal-Greenwood today, Thursday, and visits Columbus Catholic on Friday. Gilman has 4 p.m. doubleheaders with Neillsville at home on Tuesday and at Owen-Withee on May 5.

Gilman got win number one on Thursday, avenging a loss from two days earlier with a 3-2 win over Colby-Abbotsford. The game was moved to Colby, where Gilman served as the home team.

Weir had the best pitching outing of her short varsity career, striking out five, walking one and allowing just two hits and one earned run in seven innings. One of those strikeouts was a big one against Colby-Abbotsford’s numbertwo hitter that ended the game with the tying run in scoring position.

“That certainly was not a bad night,” Phelps said. “We played good defense behind her.”

Leading that defense was sophomore Ava Warner. The Pirates moved her from catcher and tried her at shortstop and she responded with seven putouts. Kroeplin got her feet wet at the catcher position and did well for a first outing.

The Pirates never trailed. They took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third as James and Warner reach. Both were knocked in on a clutch base hit by Hendricks.

Colby-Abbotsford got one back in the top of the fourth. Gilman went up 3-1 in the bottom of the fifth when Duellman walked and then used her speed, stealing second and third base before scoring on a passed ball. The Hornets closed the gap to one in the sixth but got no closer.

Hendricks was two for three. Duellman was one for three with a walk and the clinching run. Warner was one for two and Chaplinski was one for three, also reaching on an error.

Colby-Abbotsford is currently 2-4 in league play.

Playing in rare sunshine for this spring on April 19, Gilman dropped its Eastern Cloverbelt opener 7-0 in Colby.

Hendricks and Weir both were two for three and Kroeplin was one for three. The Pirates had seven runners on the base paths overall, but stranded them all. Only two of Colby-Abbotsford’s runs against Weir were earned. She struck out five.

“Offensively we couldn’t string anything together,” Phelps said. “We struggled adjusting at the plate. We didn’t stay off the high stuff. We helped their pitcher out a lot at the plate. Defensively we committed six errors. Grouping errors is a killer. When you have two outs and you commit two errors in a row and that opens the floodgates a little bit, that hurts. We’re young. We’re still shifting and adjusting and starting to figure things out a little bit.”

Abby Chaplinski