St. Albert edges Glenwood in walk-off win

Bella Dingus drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh to lift Council Bluffs St. Albert to a 3-2 victory over Glenwood Friday in Hawkeye 10 Conference softball.

Walk-off losses are always tough but Glenwood coach Kylee Stanton said she thought her team played well enough to win. The Rams weren’t helped by three fielding errors that led two of the Saintes three runs.

“We had some missed opportunities,” she said. “We had runners in scoring positions at least two or three innings and we left them stranded on second and third. Defensive-wise, we’re young. We have a lot of youth and a lot of kids that have moved around so there’s some inexperience.

“So to have an error or two was what we thought might happen. I can’t be too upset with how we played. I was pretty proud of them.”

Coryl Matheny provided the offensive spark for the Rams, smacking a first inning triple and then a solo home run in the third inning.
Taryn Bertini took the tough luck loss in the circle after allowing six hits and a single earned run.

“I know she’s had a sore shoulder and she fought through that and threw a good game,” Stanton said. “I was proud of her.”
    
Harlan 3,
Glenwood 0

Harlan’s Tianna Kasperbauer held Glenwood to a single hit and struck out seven in the Cyclones’ 3-0 win over Glenwood that was called in the top of the sixth inning due to lightning Thursday.

Madison Barrett had the Rams’ lone hit, a first inning single off Kasperbauer.

“We struggled at the plate that for sure,” said Glenwood coach Kylee Stanton. “I think some of it was lack of discipline. We swung at the high pitches a lot. And there was some nervousness I think. She was the first pitcher we’ve seen who throws decent. She was definitely better than Creston’s pitcher. I think part of it was we got anxious when they got up and we pressed.”

The Cyclones did not commit an error compared to the Rams’ four fielding miscues. 

“Without the errors, it’s a 1-0 ballgame,” Stanton said.

Glenwood 8,
Creston 4

Glenwood smacked 10 hits in an 8-4 victory over Creston in its softball season-opener last Tuesday in Creston.

“That was a very well-played game for us for a first game,” said Glenwood coach Kylee Stanton. “It was a good night for us at the plate.”

The Rams’ got three hits and two RBIs from Braden Liddick and two hits each from Madison Barrett and Haylee Sell in the win.
Defensively the Rams were strong, committing just error all game long.

As part of the effort, the Cyclones had the bases loaded with no outs in the bottom of the second when Glenwood’s Haylee Woods snagged a line drive, stepped on second base and then fired a throw to third for a rare triple play. The defensive gem seemed to energize the Rams. They scored four runs in their next at-bats.

The lead was all starting pitcher Taryn Bertini needed to work with. The senior scattered 10 hits and three earned runs in the complete-game victory.

“We figured out what their batters could and couldn’t hit and she hit her spots,” Stanton said of Bertini. “She didn’t have any strikeouts. That was purely defense helping her out. That was huge. In the past we’ve relied on the strikeout and they’ve been huge for us but Taryn trusting the defense shows a lot about how she feels about this team.”