Pirates’ first field experience is an 8-4 road win
GILMAN SOFTBALL
The Gilman Pirates found a place and a team to play Monday and opened their 2023 softball season with an 8-4 win over host Pepin-Alma.
Getting on dirt and grass for the first time, the Pirates struggled a bit defensively early, but once they settled in they took over the game with a five-run fifthinning rally.
That rally was part of an impressive 15-hit attack in the first game.
“By the third inning, we kind of settled in,” Gilman head coach Brian Phelps said. “Even the bottom of the order hit well.”
Ava Warner and Eva Kopacz both went three for four at the plate and Kenlyn Kroeplin was two for four with an RBI double and two runs scored. Danielle Mann and Tatum Weir also had twohit games and drove in two runs apiece.
Weir was the winning pitcher. In seven innings, she allowed four hits and five walks while striking out two.
The Pirates had some defensive hiccups early and Pepin-Alma took advantage with a three-run bottom of the second inning. The Pirates got a couple back in the top of the third, gave up one more in the bottom half and then took the lead for good in the fourth.
“We did a lot of really good things,” Phelps said. “The game showed some of the things we need to clean up and work on. Our bats looked solid once we got into a game and having things called. Eventually the bats came alive. Defensively, we had four errors in the first four innings, then after that we just settled right in.
Our outfield, Eva, Kenlyn and Kayleigh were just amazing. Having speed in the outfield is so much fun to watch. The three of them have good gloves.”
Kopacz started the third-inning rally with a single and scored on Kroeplin’s double. Singles by Mann and Weir followed.
In the fourth, Gilman got the line moving with consecutive singles by Abby Chaplinski, Warner, Jayda Rosemeyer, Kopacz, Kroeplin and Mann. With one out, Weir singled in a run and Bryn Hendricks doubled in one more.
Gilman tacked on one more in the sixth when Warner singled, was bunted to second by Rosemeyer and scored on a base hit by Kopacz.
“Pepin has a nice team,” Phelps said. “(Head coach) Matt Bellerive does a great job down there. They were pushing the ball around and stuff as well and our defense responded pretty well. So that was good to see. Obviously, there’s plenty of things to clean up.”
The Pirates hope to have some opportunities to do just that in the next week or so. The scheduled Eastern Cloverbelt Conference opener today, Thursday, at Columbus Catholic has been postponed due to a band conflict for the Dons, but the Pirates have added a home game with Prairie Farm to replace that if a diamond is ready.
Another conference game is scheduled for Friday at Colby-Abbotsford ahead of Gilman’s annual trip to Poynette where it hopes to get games in with Stanley-Boyd and Manawa if the weather cooperates.
Gilman is scheduled to play conference games at Owen-Withee Tuesday and at home against Colby-Abbotsford on April 20 before going to Colfax for nonconference play on April 21.
“It will be fun to see how much we improve,” Phelps said. “That’s what we always talk about, getting a little bit better every day.”
