Libby 19, Ronan 3
At Ronan, the visiting Libby Lady Loggers put into practice what could be likened to a bit of forestry in reverse when they hauled out the big lumber and then did some clear cutting as they felled the host Maidens 19-3 in a game shortened on account of the ten run margin on Tuesday.
In the top of the 1st after a pair of walks with one out, Alysha Martin singled home courtesy runner Taylor Resch to stake Libby with a 1-0 lead. The Maidens would respond in kind and then some in their half of the inning. Leadoff hitter Ashleigh Lynch opened with a single, followed with a walk to Marissa McCrea to put two runners on board. Then number three batter Katie “Crash” Andrews celebrated her birthday in appropriate softball fashion by stroking a single to load the bases with nobody out. After a strikeout, middle-of-the-order batter Payge “La Fonda” DeLaurenti drew a walk to force in Lynch to tie the game at 1-1. Number six hitter Turquoise “T-Rex” Haggard was then hit by a pitch to force in another run and give the Maidens the lead.
Number seven batter Alex Dulmes applied a tad of Taekwondo oriental mastery to her bunt, which the pitcher had trouble handling. Dulmes would reach first safely while Andrews would score to give Ronan a 3-1 advantage. A pair of strikeouts by Libby pitcher Stacey Oedewaldt would extract the Lady Loggers from succumbing to any further damage.
The 2nd inning was relatively uneventful as both teams went in order 1-2-3. One highlight which emerged during the top half of that inning was showcased by centerfielder Lynch as she reinforce the rationale behind why she was christened with the nickname “Rocket” when she fired her afterburners and made a difficult diving catch to intercept a dying potential bloop single by Taylor Armstrong to secure the second out of the inning.
In the top half of the 3rd, Libby was able to significantly loosen the lugnuts of the Maiden vehicle. Bottom-of-the-order batter Alyssa Walker was able to reach base safely when the ball got by the shortstop. Top-of-the-order batter Jaime Gilden successfully laid down a bunt, followed by a walk to Lexi Hageness to load the bases with nobody out. Number three batter Kim Tangen reaped the benefits of some of her good fortune by stroking a dual RBI single to plate Walker and Gilden to tie the game. Cleanup hitter Alysha Martin followed with a RBI single to plate Hageness to give Libby the lead at 4-3 and was able to advance safely to third when the outfielder misjudged the ball, opening the door for Tangen to score another run.
After a strikeout, middle-of-the-order batter Candace Hendrickson hit a RBI single to plate Martin to expand Libby’s lead to 6-3. Number seven batter Taylor Armstrong reached on a fielding miscue to advance the runner. Number eight hitter Brooke Rosling put the ball into play, reaching first safely on a fielder’s choice as the Maidens elected to negate the lead runner at third by executing textbook 5-6 coverage of an infield hit down the third base line to secure the second out. Walker then came to the plate the second time in the inning and reached base again, this time with a clean single in almost the same spot to load the bases once again. Top-of-the-order batter Gilden came to the plate her second time and hit a mid-range blooper behind the infield which the outfielder was unable to secure as two more runs crossed the plate. Hageness then came to the plate her second time and stroked a 2 RBI double to plate two more runners before Maiden pitcher Alaina Madsen could tighten the tourniquet to stem the bleeding with a strikeout that ended the inning. In the bottom of the 3rd with one out, DeLaurenti singled. Haggard followed by putting the ball into play, but the Lady Loggers were able to successfully field to and erase the lead runner as Haggard arrived at first safely on a fielder’s choice. An infield pop-up would end the inning.
In the top of the 4th, Libby would further loosen the lug nuts until the wheels of the Maiden vehicle came off. Martin would reach second when the ball she put into play would escape the glove of the infielder and trickle into the outfield. Barton would draw a walk to put two runners on the base path. Hendrickson hit the ball toward an infielder, which they had trouble securing, allowing Hendrickson to reach first safely as a run scored.
Armstrong followed with a RBI single to plate another run for Libby. A succession of miscues placed runners on base while another run scored. Top-of-the-order batter Gilden would reach on a fielder’s choice as the Maidens eradicated the runner before her with a play related from the shortstop to the second baseman for the first out of the inning. Hageness would plate another run with her subsequent single. A walk issued to Tangen would leave two runners on the bases with only one out, setting the table to Alysha Martin to generate 3 RBIs with a home run that expanded the Libby lead to 19-3 as courtesy runner Kelsey Klin, Tangen and Martin plated. The Maidens were able to extricate themselves from the inning with the crisp fielding of a pair of vintage infield hits down the left field line that were relayed to first to secure the remaining two outs.
In the bottom of the 4th, number eight pinch hitter Whisper Ivins singled to open the frame. Bottom-of-the-order batter Madsen then stroked a liner between first and second which Libby second baseman Gilden go-go-gadget-arm gloved, then relayed to first to turn a double play and snuff a potential Maiden rally. A subsequent routine 4-3 infield play would slam the door on any manufacturing of Maiden mayhem for that inning.
With one out in the top of the 5th, number eight pinch hitter Becca Kyriss safely singled, advanced to second on the bobble of her hit, then would later steal third. Bottom-of-the-order hitter Walker reached on a fielder’s choice tapper to the mound when Maiden pitcher Madsen adeptly fielded the ball and relayed it to third to catch Kyriss straying from the bag for the second out. Top-of-the-order pinch hitter Taylor Resch would reach base safely, but Madsen would slam the door on any further Libby exploits by striking out pinch hitter Harley Nelson, batting in the number two spot. In the bottom of the 5th, the Maidens would line out to the infield, strike out and succumb to a 4-3 put-out to end the game and dash any hopes of cutting any grooves into the wood of the Libby Lady Logger lead.
Libby - 109 - 90 - 19
Ronan - 300 - 00 - 3
Libby - 12 hits, 1 error. Ronan - 4 hits, 9 errors.
Stacey Oedewaldt, (5) Taylor Armstong and Lexi Hageness, (5) Harley Nelson. Alaina Madsen and Katie Andrews. W - Oedewaldt (5 strikeouts, 4 hits, 2 walks, hbp). L - Madsen (3 strikeouts, 12 hits, 5 walks).
LIBBY - Jaime Gilden 1-4, Hageness 2-2, Kim Tangen 1-2, Alysha Martin 3-4, Taylor Barton 0-3, Candace Hendrickson 1-4, Taylor Armstrong 1-4, Brooke Rosling 0-3, Alyssa Walker 2-4, Becca Kyriss 1-1, Taylor Resch 0-1(?), Nelson 0-1. Did not bat: Jessamyn Tempel, Kelsey Klin, Jesamin Huff.
RONAN - Ashleigh Lynch1-3, Marissa McCrea 0-2, Andrews 1-3, Lindsay Clairmont 0-3, Payge DeLaurenti 1-2, Alex Dulmes 0-2, Amber Quequesah 0-1, Madsen 0-2, Whisper Ivins 1-1, Christine Robinson 0-0.
HR - Martin. 2B - Hageness. RBIs - Martin 5, Hageness 3, Tangen 2, Hendrickson, Armstrong, DeLaurenti.
Unofficial game summary by John Heglie in collaboration with statistician Christina Richwine. Some details may vary from official summary or other versions. Alternative renderings inclined toward a more generous assessment of events could have credited Gilden in the 3rd inning with a 2 RBI bloop double, but since the glove of the outfielder made contact with the ball, it was evaluated as an error from this perspective. A couple of other scenarios could have credited a Libby batter with a base hit, but from this evaluation it was deemed that a play could-have-been or should-have-been made, particularly under warmer weather conditions that didn’t seem to hamper the other team.
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