Softball: Bats come alive in sweep of New Prague

Carly Esselman 4 hits in the doubleheader (photo by Jim Lindquist)

It took awhile for the Tiger bats to come alive but once they got going, hits and runs came in bunches in a 3-2, 10-0 sweep of New Prague Tuesday afternoon in front of a large Farmington Youth Softball Day crowd at Tiger Field.

The win was the fourth in five starts for Farmington who won two of three games and the consolation championship at the Mankato East Invitational Tournament last weekend.

"We were much better defensively today and we came up with some big hits with runners in scoring position," Tiger coach Paul Harrington said. "Those were two concerns we had after the tournament."

The Trojans' hard-throwing righthander Nicole Reed had the Tiger bats silenced in the early going, striking out eight of the first nine batters she faced.

"She throws hard and her rise ball was something we didn't see in Mankato," Harrington said. "Once we made her throw the ball in the strike zone we did a lot better."

The Tigers trailed 2-1 before scoring two runs in the home half of the sixth to put the game away.

Carly Esselman started the winning rally with a single. Ashley Betzold walked and then Amber Doyle's bunt and an error produced the tying run. Toni Hunsinger's bunt brought home the game-winner.

Esselman's single and RBI Betzold's double accounted for the first Tiger run in the fourth inning.

"When you're not hitting the ball all that well, sometimes the bunt is a good Plan B," Harrington said.

Esselman and Betzold each had a pair of hits to lead the five-hit Farmington offense.

Betzold wen the distance in the circle to pick up the pitching win. She struck out six and walked one.

Jordyn Keprios 3-run triple in the 3rd inning (photo by Jim Lindquist)

In the nightcap, Farmington scored a run in the first on Esselman's single and Betzold's double of the centerfield fence and two more in the second on an opposite field triple by Molly Berdan and a run-scoring single by Esselman before blowing the game wide open.

The winners had only one hit in the third but it was a big one, a bases loaded triple by Jordyn Keprios. Ashley Ibinger brought home the other run with a bases loaded walk. Another walk and two rare catcher interference calls helped fuel the four-run uprising.

In the fourth, a single by Betzold, a long double by Doyle, a walk to Taylor Yousse and triple by Maddie Muelken produced the runs that ended the game on the 10-run rule.

Betzold picked up her second pitching win of the day, allowing just three hits while striking out six.

Wednesday's scheduled game with Rochester Mayo has been postponed. Weather permitting, the Tigers will return to action Thursday with a Missota Conference doubleheader against Holy Angels at Tiger Field.

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