St. Ann / TSJ Softball Splits Four Games
By Brent Huelsmann
The St. Ann/TSJ Softball team lost three of five as the calendar turned to September. They defeated St. John Chester, and Willow Grove St. Mary’s but dropped games to Waltonville, and Nashville Middle School.
St. Ann/TSJ began September with a win as they needed just five innings to beat St. John Chester 10-0. St. Ann/TSJ got a run in the first to take the lead, and that would be all St. Ann/TSJ would need as Lauren Rapp didn’t need much run support in the circle.
St. Ann TSJ would get three runs in the third, one run in the fourth, and five runs in the fifth to take the victory.
Reese Varel, Rapp, and Keeghan Renth each had two hits in the win. Colleen Jahnke and Emma Van Hise each had a hit for TSJ/St. Ann.
St. Ann/TSJ was back in action for a three day stretch in which they took on Waltonville, Nashville Middle School, and Willow Grove/St. Mary’s Centralia.
On September 6, St. Ann/TSJ traveled to take on Waltonville. A slugfest between the two teams, Waltonville would hold off a late rally for a 13-11 victory. St. Ann/TSJ got the scoring started with a run in the first, but Waltonville came back to score four in the bottom half of the inning. Waltonville would add to their lead in the second with two runs in the frame to take a 6-1 lead.
St. Ann/TSJ would cut into the lead in the third with a run of their own, and would take a 7-6 lead in the top of the fourth with five runs. The lead would be short lived as Waltonville would come back with three runs in the bottom half of the fourth to take a 9-7 lead.
St. Ann/TSJ would get another run in the fifth, to cut the deficit to one, but again Waltonville would extend their lead. Waltonville got four runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a 13-8 lead over St. Ann/TSJ.
After a scoreless sixth, St. Ann/TSJ would get three runs in the top of the seventh, but could not complete the comeback as Waltonville took the 13-11 win.
Jahnke led the team with four hits, followed by Ruby Konkel with three hits. Both Rapp and Kris May finished with two hits apiece for St. Ann/TSJ, while Varel, Tailer Pelczynski, and Renth each finished with one hit in the loss.
St. Ann/TSJ’s next game was up against crosstown rival Nashville Middle School on September 7. St. Ann/TSJ would take an early 1-0 lead, but the Jr. Hornettes would quickly take control. NMS scored two in the bottom of the first and five in the bottom of the second to take a 7-1 lead. St. Ann/TSJ would chip away throughout the game with a run in the third and three runs in the fifth, but the Jr. Hornettes scored eight in the bottom of the fifth, to take a 15-5 win.
St. Ann/TSJ finished with just three hits in the loss, as Varel, Rapp and Konkel all got a hit.
St. Ann/TSJ played their third game in as many days as they hosted Willow Grove/St. Mary’s Centralia on September 8. St. Ann/TSJ got the offense working as they picked up the win 13-3.
St. Ann/TSJ came out swinging in this one. After falling behind 1-0 after the top of the first, St. Ann TSJ would quickly grab the lead as they scored three in the first and two in the second to take a 5-1 lead. Willow Grove/St. Mary’s Centralia would get a run in the fourth, but St. Ann/TSJ would come back with five runs of their own to take a 10-2 lead. After another run by Willow Grove/St. Mary’s Centralia in the top of the fifth, St. Ann/TSJ put the game away in the bottom half of the inning with three runs to take the 13-3 win.
Jahnke and Erica Kujawa each finished with three hits in the win, while both Rapp and May finished with two hits. Varel, Konkel, Pelczynski, and Mackenzie Bauza each finished with one hit in the win.
