Doubleheader between conference contenders does not go Gilman’s way

GILMAN SOFTBALL

The opportunity was there for the Gilman Pirates to take a big step forward in the three-team battle atop the Eastern Cloverbelt Conference softball standings. Instead, it was the Neillsville Warriors who took the lead in that race.

A disastrous 10-run top of the fifth inning sunk the Pirates in a 13-1, fiveinning loss in game one of the doubleheader played in Gilman. The offense improved in game two, but big innings allowed defensively again were an issue as Neillsville completed the sweep with another five-inning win 18-8.

The Warriors improved to 7-0 in league play and are one of two teams still unbeaten in the standings. Columbus Catholic has gotten off to a slow start in getting games in, but it stands at 3-0 with two games still remaining against both the Pirates and Warriors.

Gilman slipped to 4-2 in conference play and 6-4 overall.

“They played well and we didn’t,” Gilman head coach Brian Phelps said. “They can hit. I’ll give them credit. They definitely are a good hitting team.”

Gilman has been a solid hitting team for much of the spring, but it didn’t really show in game one. The Pirates got their only run in the bottom of the third to cut into a 3-0 lead. Danielle Mann was hit by a pitch and Kayleigh James and Tatum Weir both singled to push Mann home. But that wasn’t enough to keep pace, especially when Neillsville blew it open in the fifth.

“We couldn’t stop the bleeding,” Phelps said.

Weir took the loss for Gilman but pitched well enough to deserve a better result. She allowed eight hits, struck out five and only walked two. She pitched again in game two and allowed 14 hits, struck out two and walked one. Phelps felt his ace probably tired a bit and, in hindsight, he said he probably had his outfielders playing too deep at times in the windy conditions, which allowed some hits to fall in front of them.

The positive side was that the offense came to life. Playing as the visitors, Gilman took a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning and led 5-2 midway through the second before Neillsville scored five in that frame and seven in the third to go up 14-6.

“Offensively the girls adjusted well (to Neillsville’s pitcher) and they pretty much did it on their own,” Phelps said. “They were more patient, a little more selective. They let the ball travel better.”

Mann and Bryn Hendricks both homered for Gilman in the loss. Mann’s homer was her first. She went two for four with a double and three RBIs. Hendricks and Weir both went two for three. Abby Chaplinski was three for four with a triple and an RBI. Kenlyn Kroeplin was two for three.

Gilman finishes this week with backto- back games against Owen-Withee. Gilman will host Columbus Catholic Monday and visit Loyal-Greenwood on May

11.

Pirates win 15-5

On Thursday, the host Pirates used an 11-run second-inning rally to quickly put away Loyal-Greenwood in a 15-5 Eastern Cloverbelt victory.

Three Pirates had three-hit games and Weir allowed one earned run, five hits and four walks while striking out six batters in the team’s fourth straight league win to start the season.

“We’re slapping the ball around really well,” Phelps said. “We’re putting together some good at-bats. Even our outs were getting hit hard.”

Gilman scored twice in the bottom of the first inning, but Loyal-Greenwood tied it in the top half to inning number two. The tie didn’t last long as the Pirates put up the 11-spot to go up 13-2.

Eva Kopacz had a two-run double, while Mann and Hendricks had two-run singles. Mann finished three for three with a walk, three runs scored and three RBIs in the win. Weir was three for four and scored twice. Hendricks was two for three and knocked in three runs. Kopacz was three for four with a double and two driven in.

Loyal-Greenwood scored twice in the top of the third, which was answered by two Gilman runs in the bottom half to make it 15-4. One more run by the visitors in the top of the fourth closed the scoring in the five-inning game.