The Decorah softball team (14-7, 11-4 NEIC) bounced back on Thursday with a win against Waukon (10-17, 3-14 NEIC) after a pair of losses against Charles City (20-7, 12-3 NEIC) in a double header on Wednesday.
Two close calls
The Vikings put on a strong show against the Comets but came up short in both games. They plated four runs at the top of the first, with Charles City answering with three of their own in the bottom. It would end up being Decorah’s only trips across the plate in the first contest.
The Decorah defense held strong in subsequent innings, with the Comets going three up and three down off of tags out on first. Isabel Ihde had the base locked down tighter than Fort Knox.
Things finally gave in the bottom of the fifth, when a stolen base and a mishandled ball at home plate let Charles City get a run in. The Comets scored two more in the sixth to end the game 6-4.
The nightcap was just as close, with Decorah taking the lead in the third with two runs from Abby Milburn and Kallie Mincks batted in by Shelton. It looked like the lead would hold when Charles City only got one plated in the fourth, but two more Comet runs were Decorah’s undoing in the bottom of the fifth. The Comets took it, 3-2.
R H E
Decorah 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 9 6
C. City 3 0 0 0 1 2 x 6 8 4
Shelton (LP) – 6IP, 6R, 6ER, 8H, 2BB, 0K
1B – Ellie Luzum 2; I. Idhe 2; Emma Johnson 1; Milburn 1; Shelton 1; Ella Kittleson 1; Lydia Ihde 1; RBI – Luzum 1; I. Ihde 1; L. Idhe 1
R H E
Decorah 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 4 4
C. City 0 0 0 1 2 0 x 3 5 4
Johnson (LP) – 6IP, 3R, 2ER, 5H, 1BB, 1K
1B – Milburn 1; Shelton 1; Kittelson 1; I. Ihde; RBI – Shelton 1
On the upswing
Decorah’s game on Thursday was a different story, with runs and steals coming in left and right. They hit home plate at a steady rate, scoring every inning save for the third. Shelton staved off any Waukon attempts to retaliate by throwing nine strikeouts and having strong fielders to back her up.
The Vikings were stealing their way around the bases, with Mya Numendahl and Fiona Buresh hardly needing a hit to plate their runs. Kittelson and Shelton similarly took advantage of some Waukon errors and got to home with minimal hits.
Luzum scored the game-ending run when the Waukon shortstop overthrew a pass, giving the Viking outfielder plenty of room to slide into home. The sharp focus and attention of the Vikings ended the game in the bottom of the sixth, with Decorah taking the win 13-3.
R H E
Waukon 1 0 2 0 0 0 x 3 7 12
Decorah 1 4 0 2 2 3 x 13 12 3
Shelton (WP) – 6IP, 3R, 2ER, 7H, 3BB, 9K
2B – Shelton 2; I. Ihde 1; Buresh 1; RBI – Shelton 2; Johnson 1; Milburn 1; Kittelson 1; L. Ihde 1; SB – Numendahl 3; Milburn 2; Luzum 2; Lani Hubka 2; Johnson 1; Buresh 1; Mincks 1
Coming up
The Vikings will host Crestwood for a double-header tonight (Tuesday, June 29), starting at 5:30 p.m. Then the Vikings will head to Oelwein on Thursday, July 1 for an away game against the Huskies, which begins at 6:30 p.m.
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