C/A downs Owen-Withee, picks up first win of season

By Nathaniel Underwood

Colby/Abby grabbed two wins over the past week, handily defeating Owen-Withee in both games of their Cloverbelt- East double-header on Tuesday night. The victories snapped a 0-10 start for the co-op and propelled them to fifth place in the conference with a 2-4 record.

Owen-Withee, 18-3

An 11-run second inning propelled Colby/Abby to their first victory of the season as they cruised to an 18-3 win over the Owen-Withee Blackhawks on Tuesday night.

While the co-op only had six hits in the game, patience at the plate and some help from the Owen- Withee pitching staff helped Colby/Abby score more runs in their win than they had over the five prior games combined. The home team drew nine walks and Owen- Withee hit eight batters over the course of the four inning game.

After the Blackhawks took a brief lead by getting a run in the second, the hits by Kylie Orth and Neveah Treankler in the bottom half of the frame gave Colby/Abby a 2-1 lead.

The game quickly got out of hand in the second as a series of walks and hit batters turned the game solidly in favor of the home team. Ten batters who were given free passes either via walk or by getting hit by a pitch came around to score for Colby/Abby, who did not have a single hit in their massive inning. The only other co-op runner to score reached on an error by the Owen-Withee defense.

A walk and another error caused two more runs to cross the plate for the co-op in the third and RBI singles from Harrison Schmitt and Lucia Perez in the bottom of the fourth finished off the game.

Orth ended the day going 2-for-2 from at the plate with a walk, two RBIs and three runs scored. Tatum Bargender and Lucia Perez were both 1-for-3 with three RBIs and McKinley Klabon scored three runs after drawing three walks. Treankler’s RBI double in the first inning was the only extra base hit for the co-op.

Bargender held the Blackhawks to three runs, two of which were earned, over four innings to earn her first win of the season. She surrendered just four hits while striking out seven batters.

Owen-Withee, 23-7

The co-op followed up their first win of the season by adding a second in the same day, once again creating a 15run lead over Owen-Withee in the latter game of their double- header. Tatum Bargender, Kylie Orth and Audrey Fleischmann led the way for Colby/Abby as they topped their best offensive performance of the season with a 23-7 victory over the Blackhawks.

The lineup picked up right where they left off, scoring seven runs in the top of the first inning. Bargender led the game off with a single to center and, after stealing a base, was driven home by Orth in the next at-bat. Colby/Abby then took advantage of some wild pitches by the Blackhawks, with four of their next five batters reaching base after being hit by a pitch. On her second time through the lineup, Orth came up with a two RBI double to make the score 7-0 before the Blackhawks were finally able to get out of the inning.

Walks were also a problem for Colby/Abby in the bottom half of the frame and Owen-Withee was able to briefly work their way back into the contest by pushing across five runs. Abby/Colby worked five runs of their own in the bottom half of the frame thanks in part to more walks and hit batters to offset the Blackhawks comeback attempt.

After Fleischmann reached on a two-out single in the third, Bargender smacked a tworun home run to right field to put her team up by eight at the time. A six-run fourth all but sealed the win for Colby/Abby. A double from Josie Higley opened the inning with a bang and three of the co-op’s first four runs came on pitching mistakes, with two runners scoring on passed balls and a third on a bases-loaded hit by pitch. Fleischmann reset the offense with a single and a stolen base and Bargender drove in her fourth run of the game with a single of own in the next at-bat. Orth knocked in Bargender on a third consecutive single, leading to a 20-7 advantage for the co-op.

Torrance Bloome and Fleischmann capped off an impressive offensive day with back to back extra base hits in the fifth, with Bloome’s double driving in one and Fleischmann knocking in her teammate with a follow-up triple.

Bargender finished 3-for-4 from the plate, ending the day with a home run, four runs scored, four RBIs and two walks. Orth finished with a very similar stat line, also going 3-for-4 on the day while driving in four runs, walking twice and scoring twice. Fleischmann was a perfect 3-for-3, scoring four runs and knocking in one while also drawing a walk. Higley added a two-hit, two run performance and Bloome was 1-for-3 with two walks, two RBIs and three runs scored.

Neveah Treankler picked up her first win of the season on the mound, going three innings for Colby/Abby. She surrendered seven runs, six of which were earned, on three hits and eight walks. The junior also struck out three batters. Bargender came on in relief and threw two innings of no-hit ball for the co-op, shutting out the Blackhawks over the final frames of the game. She struck out two and walked one.

Gilman, 12-2

Nine runs in the first three innings for the Pirates largely decided the co-op’s Cloverbelt matchup with conference-leader Gilman last Thursday. While Colby/Abby managed to get on

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LOOKING FOR EXTRA BASES - Kylie Orth prepares to round first and head to second in the coop’s first win of the season.

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DRIVING IN RUNS - Lucia Perez smacks an RBI single in the fourth inning, knocking in the game sealing runs.

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the board later in the contest, the Pirates held onto control of the contest and meted out a 12-2 defeat to the visiting co-op.

While Gilman certainly did some damage with their bats, half of the runs the hosts scored came via free passes. Of the eight walked Pirates batters, six would eventually come around to score, including five of the first of eight runs Gilman scored in the first two innings.

Colby/Abby had their own scoring opportunities in the first two innings but could not capitalize. Kylie Orth was left stranded after a triple in the first and Tatum Bargender made it to third in the second but the co-op was not able to push her across the plate. Bargender eventually scored after walking and stealing a base in the sixth, scoring on a wild pitch to get the co-op on the board. However, the Pirates had opened up a 9-0 lead by that point and answered with a run of their own in the bottom half of the frame.

Orth drove in Josie Higley in the top of the seventh with her second triple of the afternoon to force the game to continue, but was once again stranded at third.

While Orth’s RBI had momentarily kept the co-op alive, Gilman sealed the series sweep after pushing across another run in the bottom of the fifth on a ground out.

Orth finished the game going 2-for-3 from the plate with an RBI. Harrison Schmitt and Lucia Perez also added hits for the co-op.

Bargender pitched all five innings, giving up 12 runs on nine hits and eight walks while striking out three batters.

Neillsville/Granton, 12-7

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A huge rally by the visiting Neillsville/Granton squad denied the co-op their first win of the season last Tuesday. After holding their conference rivals to just two hits and a single run over the first four innings, Colby/Abby could not hold on to their early lead and eventually fell, 12-7.

Despite eventually being outhit 16 to three, the hosting co-op squad held control over much of the contest. Tatum Bargender and the Colby/Abby defense did their part to

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hold back Neillsville/Granton’s lineup early and the lineup was opportunistic early.

After Harrison Schmitt and Kylie Orth were able to get on base via a hit by pitch and a walk in the first inning, an error by the visitors allowed both to score, giving Abby/ Colby the lead. They then expanded that advantage with two more runs in the second. McKinley Klabon scored on a passed ball after walking and stealing a base and Audrey Fleischmann was pushed across by a single from Schmitt later in the inning. Neillsville/Granton’s bats started to wake up in the fifth. Five singles turned into three runs for the visitors and tied the game at 4-4. Colby/Abby responded immediately, drawing walks and once again taking advantage of a Neillsville/ Granton error to retake the lead.

Bargender, Neveah Treankler and Lucia Perez all scored in the inning, matching the visitor’s three runs in the top of the frame with three of their own.

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co-op in the final two innings. Neillsville/ Granton rattled off nine hits in the final two innings, scoring five runs in the sixth to put themselves back on top and then adding three insurance runs in the top of the seventh. Colby/Abby had no response, going down one-two-three in the bottom of the sixth and putting one base runner on in the last inning.

Schmitt finished the game going 1-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI, Orth was 1-for-2 with a run and a walk and Perez had a hit and a run. Neveah Treankler, despite reaching base safely in four plate appearances did not register an at-bat after hitting a sacrifice fly in the first, walking in the second and fifth and being hit by a pitch in the seventh.

Bargender pitched the entire game for the co-op and seemed on the verge of one of her best outings before the fifth inning. Through the first four, she only allowed one hit and one walk while striking out two batters. In the end, Bargender finished with 12 runs, 11 of which were earned on 16 hits and four strikeouts.

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