Co-op softball stumped against Edgar, falls to Pirates

By Nathaniel Underwood

The Colby/Abbotsford softball team fell in both of their contests over the past week, suffering a road loss to Edgar before Gilman defeated them at home in their first conference game of the season.

Gilman, 13-3

The Colby/Abby softball team opened their Cloverbelt-East conference schedule by hosting the Gilman Pirates last Friday. While the co-op matched Gilman in hits, the visiting Pirates found more ways to push across runs, dealing Colby/Abby a 13-3 defeat.

After Gilman scored two runs in the top of the first inning, Colby/Abby answered right back. With two outs, Josie Higley was able to draw a walk and then advanced to second on a passed ball. Kylie Orth then drove a ball into center field, pushing Higley across the plate for the co-ops first run of the contest.

While Colby/Abby would have baserunners over the next two innings, the Pirates played tough defense to keep them from scoring. The co-op only struck out three times, consistently putting the ball in play, STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD

but Gilman was up to the challenge and only committed one error all game.

A three-run second inning for the Pirates widened the gap between the two squads and they made it 7-1 in the top of the fourth.

After being held scoreless in the second and third, Colby/Abby got back on the board when Torrance Bloome drove home Elizabeth Perez on a single in the fourth inning. Tatum Bargender added another run with an RBI single in the fifth, but a big sixth inning from the Pirates would secure the win for the visitors.

The first five Gilman batters were able to reach safely and all came around to score. The co-op was not able to respond in the bottom half of the inning and with a ten-run gap still between the two teams, the game concluded early.

Tatum Bargender struck out 10 batters and only gave up seven hits, but six walks and three errors committed by Colby/ Abby allowed Gilman to produce nearly twice as many runs as hits. Only eight of the 13 runs were earned.

Perez and Bloome were both 2-for-3 in the game, Higley had a double and a walk

See C/A SOFTBALL/ Page 22

STRIKEOUT MACHINE - Tatum Bargender launches in another strike in Colby/ Abby’s conference game against Gilman. The co-op pitcher had 10 strikeouts but the Pirates still came out with the 13-3 victory. C/A softball

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and Bargender and Orth both had RBI hits against the Pirates. Perez also had the only stolen base for the co-op.

Edgar, 10-0

The co-op traveled to Edgar last Tuesday evening for a make-up non-conference game against the Wildcats. The visiting Colby-Abby bats could not get much going against Edgar’s Morgan Streveler, managing just three hits against the Wildcats’ starting pitcher and eventually falling 10-0 in five innings.

Edgar scored in four of the five innings played, with the first and fourth innings proving to be particularly problematic for the visiting co-op. A plethora of small ball moves allowed the Wildcats to take an early lead. Three walks, three singles and six stolen bases in the first allowed Edgar to push across three runs and set the tone for the rest of the contest.

While Colby/Abby was able to hold their opponents to just one run over the next two innings, the Wildcats came up with a four-run fourth inning to blow open the contest. Two insurance runs in the bottom of the fifth pushed Edgar’s lead to ten and ended the contest in five.

Scoring opportunities for the co-op were few and far between as the Wildcats played solid defense behind Streveler. A two-out double from Kylie Orth in the fourth was the first time Colby/Abby was able to get a runner in scoring position, but she was unable to get any closer. Audrey Fleischmann was also able to get to second after a single and a stolen base to start off the fifth, but the visitors were unable to get her home. A single from Tatum Bargender in the first was the only other hit for Colby/ Abby.

Bargender pitched four innings for the co-op, giving up eight runs on seven hits and six walks. The junior also struck out two batters. Neveah Treankler came on in relief, giving up two runs on three hits in the fifth.