GILMAN SOFTBALL - Tough stretch for Gilman softball team after Thursday win

GILMAN SOFTBALL

A Thursday win over Colby-Abbotsford had Gilman on track to face Columbus Catholic in a doubleheader battle of Eastern Cloverbelt Conference unbeatens Tuesday, but things took a wrong turn for the Pirates Friday, who now are on a fourgame losing skid.

Columbus Catholic’s powerful offense had no trouble with the host Pirates in Tuesday’s twinbill, winning 18-2 and 12-2 in five-inning games that put the Dons at 9-0 in league play. The results leave Neillsville-Granton as the only team now that has any mathematical hope of catching Columbus Catholic, who has won 23 straight conference games over the past two-plus years.

Unlike the past two games, where defensive miscues killed the Pirates, head coach Brian Phelps said that phase of Gilman’s game was better Tuesday. Columbus Catholic’s offense, he said, was just too good.

“It was good to see us get back to playing better defense and not throwing the ball around when we had those opportunities,” Phelps said. “I was happy to see that.

In game one, Gilman scored single runs in the second and fifth innings. The Dons scored three in the top of the first, two in the second and three in the third to lead 81. Five-run rallies in the last two innings really widened the gap.

Abby Chaplinski was two for three to lead Gilman offensively. The Pirates had eight hits against the Dons’ top pitcher, Akosua Yeboah. Columbus had 15 hits against Gilman starter Scarlett Stuner, including four from Shelby Spata, who doubled, tripled and drove in four runs. Izzy Holz also drove in four runs. Stuner struck out one and had some trouble with walks, issuing seven.

In game two, Gilman, playing as the road team, had a brief 1-0 lead. Kayleigh James started the game with a triple and scored on Kenlyn Kroeplin’s grounder.

The Dons came back with four in their half of the first, including a Spata homer, and didn’t stop scoring after that, scoring one in the second, one in the third, three in the fourth and three more in the fifth, ending it on Ciena Adler’s bases-loaded hit in the bottom of the fifth.

Gilman had a chance for a big second inning, loading the bases with one out. The Pirates only got one run out of it when James’ bases-loaded walk scored Olivia Szemraj.

James went two for two, Allie Olynick was two for three and Chaplinski and Szemraj had a hit apiece.

Holz added a homer for Columbus. Abby Wojcik was the winning pitcher and had two hits.

Norah Noonah got the start for Gilman and pitched all 4.1 innings. She allowed 14 hits, four walks and nine earned runs while striking out one.

Gilman, now 4-4 in league play and 6-7 overall, hosts Loyal-Greenwood Friday at 5 p.m., faces Lake Holcombe-Cornell and Drummond Saturday in the annual Gilman-Thorp Slamfest and then travels to Neillsville-Granton Tuesday for a 4 p.m. conference doubleheader. Gilman is at Owen-Withee May 15 and plans to make up a game at Clayton-Turtle Lake on May 16.

L-G 14, Gilman 7

Gilman’s offense clicked early on Monday, but the defense couldn’t stop Loyal Greenwood from scoring as it pulled away for a 14-7 win over the Pirates.

Gilman led 3-0 in the top of the first and 5-3 through an inning and a half. Loyal-Greewood scored four runs in the bottom of the second and took over from there, putting the game away with two-run rallies in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings.

Loyal-Greenwood outhit Gilman 15-10. Seven errors certainly did not help Gilman’s cause. Kroeplin was two for four with an RBI. Stuner was two for four with two RBIs. Stuner pitched five innings, allowed 12 runs, only four of which were earned, and two walks. She struck out two. Noonan got the sixth and allowed two hits and two runs.

“We had runners on but couldn’t get that big hit to really open things up,” Phelps said.

Spencer 13, Gilman 2

Gilman’s skid began Friday when the Pirates were upended at home 13-2 by Spencer, a team that came into the game without a conference win.

Gilman led 1-0 thanks to a secondinning run, but Spencer scored three in the top of the fourth on a rally that started with an error and then put up a big number in the fifth with six runs to take a commanding 9-1 lead.

“They got the momentum and punched us in the mouth in the fourth and fifth innings and we just never responded,” Phelps said. “They gained confidence, got the momentum and we didn’t have an answer.”

Four of Spencer’s runs were earned. Stuner pitched six innings, struck out four and walked four. The Rockets collected 11 hits against her. Noonan allowed four hits and two runs in the seventh.

Chaplinski led the offense, going two for three with a double.

On Thursday, Gilman completed a regular-season sweep of Colby-Abbotsford with a 24-5 rout in a game switched that afternoon to Gilman due to better field conditions. The Pirates played as the visiting team in the four-inning contest.

The Pirates got pushed early by the winless Colby-Abby squad. Gilman scored three times in the top of the first, highlighted by a two-run double by Abby Chaplinski. But Colby-Abby came right back with three in its half with a two-run single by Audrey Fleschmann and an RBI single from Kierlsyn Orth.

Gilman didn’t waste time taking the lead for good, scoring four times in the top of the second. Lila Allamiraino walked and scored when Colby-Abbotsford threw away Averie Olynick’s bunt. After Kayleigh James was hit by a pitch, Stuner’s grounder drove in a run as did Kenlyn Kroeplin’s sacrifice fly. Chaplinski capped the rally with a high fly ball that carried all the way over the fence in right-center for a home run.

The Pirates started to pull away with a five-run third. A 12-run fourth that included a homer from Allie Olynick sealed it. Olynick was four for five with five RBIs.

Chapliski was four for four, James was three for five with two RBIs. Averie Olynick was three for three with three RBIs and Kroeplin was two for three with a double and three RBIs.

Stuner allowed five hits and three earned runs in four innings. She struck out four and walked three.

Gilman first baseman Raygen Soper stretches to reach a throw from third baseman Abby Chaplinski during the second inning of game two in Tuesday’s doubleheader with Columbus Catholic. The Pirates retired Ashley Weiler on the ground ball. MATT FREY/THE STAR NEWS