Hit Parade

ST. HENRY - In its three-game winning streak coming into Monday's game, St. Henry had scored 36 runs.

The hit parade didn't cease as the Redskins plated eight runs in the first inning and never looked back in run-ruling Marion Local 18-3 in five innings in the Division IV softball tournament opener at the Wally Post Athletic Complex.

The Redskins (12-14) advance to play second-seeded Crestview on Thursday in Convoy.

Seven Redskins had hits in the game, with five having multi-hit games.

"That was fun," said St. Henry coach Ashley Knapke. "First inning, we got things going. Lot of girls who don't normally hit the ball hit the ball. It was a team effort."

The run parade started in the top of the first with Rileigh Baumer walking, stealing second and going to third on a wild pitch. Lauren Mestemaker lofted a fly to left that allowed Baumer to score the first run. Jalynn Everman and Carlee Rethman followed with back-to-back singles, with Everman scoring on Sydney Schwieterman's sacrifice fly to center for the second out. After Claire Wendel walked, Dakota McCann singled off Allison Dirksen to score courtesy runner Audrey Wendel for the third run.

Calli Post walked to load the bases for Lauren Robinette. Dirksen hit Robinette to bring home Wendel as Baumer stepped to the plate for the second time. The count went to 1-2 before Baumer hit a shot that carried over the center field fence for a grand slam to make it 8-0 before Dirksen got the final out.

Dirksen managed a 1-2-3 inning in the second, but St. Henry got back into the swing of things with three more runs in the third. McCann connected on a homer to center with Wendel ahead of her on the bases before Mestemaker brought home Robinette with a sac fly to make it 11-3.

The coup de grâce came in the fourth, when the Redskins sent 12 batters to the plate and scored seven runs. Rethman, Wendel, McCann and Robinette each had RBI singles and Everman added a run-scoring double as St. Henry, which entered the inning with just six hits through three inning, had seven more hits to trigger the run-rule.

"Earlier in the season we would have struggled against a slower pitcher," said Knapke. "We had some good BPs (batting practices) the past few days and and girls cranked them when we needed to."

The Flyers got 10 hits off of Redskin starter Carlee Rethman, but managed just three runs and left seven runners on base, including having runners in scoring position in the first, second, fourth and fifth innings. Dirksen tried to help her own cause with a two-run single in the third to make it 8-3, but that was as far as the Flyer offense could get.

The Flyers started the top of the fifth with three straight singles to load the bases, but the Redskins got one out when a runner tried to come home on a wild pitch and was tagged out, and a force out and a groundout ended the game.

"Marion put the bat on the ball," said Knapke. "They found some gaps, but we were able to come through on defense."

McCann was 3-for-3 with four RBI. Everman, Rethman, Schwieterman and Robinette each had two-hit games.

Paige Bruggeman, Sam Pierron and Dirksen each had two hits for Marion.