Pirates have no trouble in DH sweep over winless Spencer
GILMAN SOFTBALL
The Gilman softball team took advantage of a shorthanded Spencer squad Tuesday and easily swept an Eastern Cloverbelt Conference doubleheader with the Rockets, winning 25-0 and 19-4 in three-inning games.
Gilman head coach said the 0-8 Rockets have been hurt by injury and ineligibility at the pitching and catching positions and it showed.
In game one, Gilman hitters drew 19 walks and were hit by six pitches while scoring 14 runs in the first inning and 11 more in the second. The Pirates added six hits. Danielle Mann doubled in the win and drove in two runs. Kayleigh James was two for three and knocked in two. Bryn Hendricks doubled and had two RBIs and Abby Chaplinski added an RBI double.
Tatum Weir threw a mini perfect game, setting the Rockets down in order in all three innings. She struck out three.
Playing as the visitors in game two, the Pirates again struck for 14 runs in the top of the first inning and added five more in the second to go up 19-2. The Rockets got two runs in the bottom of the third to threaten the 15run rule, but Gilman pitcher Eva Kopacz got the outs she needed to end the game right there.
Kopacz allowed three hits, including a two-run homer by Spencer’s Sam Soback, and two earned runs. She struck out four, walked two and hit one batter.
James hit a double and had two RBIs, Hendricks had a double and an RBI, Kopacz was two for two with three RBIs and Ava Warner singled and drove in one for Gilman, who improved to 3-0 in league play and 5-2 overall.
“We did what we had to do and took care of business,” Phelps said. “I told their coach I was impressed in that no matter how the game was going, their kids stayed upbeat, they kept playing and kept fighting.”
Gilman enters a key stretch of conference play today, Thursday, when it hosts 2-1 Loyal-Greenwood at 5 p.m. After a 4:45 p.m. non-conference game at Rib Lake Monday, the Pirates are scheduled to host league-leading Neillsville (4-0, 4-3) in a 4 p.m. doubleheader Tuesday that will be a key determining factor in the championship chase. Gilman hosts Owen-Withee May 4 and visits the Blackhawks the following day.
