Rams drop two at Perry Tournament

Glenwood had a rough day offensively in a pair of losses at the Perry Invitational Softball Tournament Saturday.

The Rams (5-3 overall, 2-1 in the conference) dropped its opener 2-0 to Van Meter and then fell 4-3 to the host Bluejays in their tournament capper.

Glenwood notched just two hits in game one – singles by Sara Kolle and Faith Weber – but the fact starting pitcher Alli Koontz allowed just three hits and no earned runs in the game was impressive, according to Glenwood head coach Ryan Koch

“That was one of the best defensive games we’ve played,” Koch said. “That was a great softball game with two great pitchers throwing against each other. They had three hits, we had two so not a lot of offense but it was a great softball game. Both teams competed.”

The Rams has seven hits in the game two loss, but just one went for extra-bases. Aubrey Albers and Brynn Schrock each had hits and drove in runs.

The Rams trailed 2-0 in the game when an injury to starting pitcher Brynn Schrock forced Koch to his bullpen. Koontz came on and pitched the final four innings, battling some injury issues of her own – a blister on her throwing hand and back soreness – but Koch thought she and his team showed a lot of heart in fighting back to take a 3-2 lead in the sixth. Van Meter would go on plate two runs in the bottom of the seventh to win the game.

“We didn’t play as well defensively but the heart they showed was fabulous,” Koch said. “They were great teammates, picking each other up when we got down. Losing isn’t fun but the way we competed, I couldn’t have asked for anything more.”

Koontz took the game one loss after allowing three hits and striking out four.

Glenwood 5,
Shenandoah 4  

Glenwood plated four runs in the first two innings and withstood a late Shenandoah rally in a 5-4 Hawkeye 10 Conference victory last Wednesday in Glenwood.

“Any time you can get a conference win, it’s a good win,” said Glenwood coach Ryan Koch. “We did start out 4-0 but we let them back in it and we went back to Koontz and she got the win. Brynn (Schrock) came on and threw well too but Koontz started and then we went back to her. They both pitched well. We wanted to give them (Shenandoah) a little different look.”

Koontz picked up the win in the circle after scattering two hits and an earned run while fanning five.

Sara Kolle had two doubles and drove in a run and Alli Koontz had two hits and drove in a run of her own.

Jenna Burdorf, who had two hits to lead Shenandoah at the plate, took the loss in the circle. The junior allowed six hits and five earned runs.

Rams split with Denison

Glenwood bounced back from a 6-5, extra-inning loss to Denison with a 6-3 victory in the nightcap of a Hawkeye 10 Conference softball last Tuesday in Denison.

The Rams led game one 4-2 heading into the seventh when the Monarchs plated two runs in the bottom of the seventh to force extra-innings. After Glenwood pushed a run across to open the eighth, Denison came back for two more runs in bottom of the frame to pull out the win.

In the opener, the Rams had nine hits, including two home runs each by Ali Koontz and Brynn Schrock.

In game two, the Rams used a four run fourth inning to pull away in the 6-3 winner. They knocked nine hits in the win with Sara Kolle going 3-for-3 with two RBIs and Schrock added two hits and three RBIs.

“The first game was a tough one to lose, we gave up some unearned runs and we let that one slip away,” said Glenwood coach Ryan Koch. “We hit the ball really well with Koontz and Brynn hitting two home runs each. We didn’t let that negative energy effect us in the second game and we came out and got the win. Its never easy to win at Denison.”

Koontz took the tough luck loss in game one. The sophomore scattered six hits, two earned runs and struck out 12. Schrock notched the game two winner after tossing 4 2/3 innings and allowing three hits and two earned runs while fanning seven.