Team photo by Travis Rosenau Minnesota Valley Lutheran’s Karlee Prahl (10) turns the ball over to second to try to get New Ulm Cathedral’s Jaylin Hartness (8) during the first game of a Tomahawk Conference softball doubleheader at Harman Park on Wednesday.
NEW ULM – New Ulm Cathedral’s hit parade led the Greyhounds to a Tomahawk Conference softball doubleheader sweep over Minnesota Valley Lutheran on Wednesday at Harman Park.
The Greyhounds cruised to a 15-1 victory in a five-inning Game 1 and won the second game 18-2 in a four-inning Game 2. The first game ended in fifth due to the 10-run lead rule, while the second game ended in four due to the 15-run lead rule.
Abbey Hillesheim got the win in Game 1, allowing three hits and a walk for one unearned run while striking out three. Katlyn Stadick took the loss in Game 1, allowing 13 hits and seven walks for 11 earned runs.
Ava Schmid went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and four runs scored to lead the Greyhounds in Game 1, while Ava Brennan went 2-for-4 with one RBI and four runs scored and Jaylin Hartness went 2-for-3 with a double and three RBIs.
The Chargers got singles from Grace Onken, Stadick and Taylor Gunderson in Game 1, with Briley Henderson scoring a run on a wild pitch.
Team photo by Travis Rosenau Minnesota Valley Lutheran’s Briley Henderson safely moves back to third during a Tomahawk Conference softball doubleheader on Wednesday.
The Greyhounds put three on the board in the first after Brennan walked and was doubled to Schmid. Jenna Hotovec struck out one to score Schmid before Jaylin Hartness reached on an error to keep the inning alive with two outs. A single by Alexa Hornick was followed by an RBI single by Madelyn Haala to give the Greyhounds the early 3-0 lead.
The Greyhounds added three more runs in the second, as an RBI single by Kiah Helget, an RBI groundout by Hotovec and an RBI double by Hartness brought in the runs for a 6-0 lead.
Cathedral opened the game in a third inning that saw them batting. Haala doubled in the inning and scored on an RBI single by Margo Finstad. Brennan and Schmid also had RBI singles in the inning, while Hornick drew a bases-loaded walk to bring in another run and give the Greyhounds an 11-0 lead.
MVL rallied in the top of the fourth after Hotovec failed to field a Henderson hit to center off his glove. An Onken single moved Henderson to third and a wild pitch scored Henderson for an 11-1 score.
The Greyhounds added four more runs in the bottom of the fourth, led by Hartness’ two runs to left. Shay Wilfahrt had a chance to close with two outs due to the 15-run lead rule, but a long fly ball off his bat to center field was pulled into the bottom of the inning by MVL center fielder Jess Meunier.
Despite giving up hits to Gunderson and Stadick with one out in the top of the fifth, Cathedral managed consecutive hits to end the game.
Game 2 was close to a repeat of Game 1 for the Greyhounds, as they ended things early with their offensive attack.
Jayde Altermatt earned the win in Game 2 for Cathedral in three innings, allowing one hit and one walk while also adding four strikeouts. Brenna Goblirsch also pitched for Cathedral and allowed one hit and two runs while striking out one.
The Greyhounds were led by Hornick, who went 3-for-3 with a double, three RBIs and two runs scored, while Haala went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a run scored.
Nora Otto took the Game 2 loss for MVL, allowing 11 hits and nine walks on 15 earned runs while striking out one. Karlee Prahl went 1-for-2 with a double to lead MVL, while Ashlyn Rodewald went 1-for-2 and Meunier had the team’s only RBI in Game 2.
The Greyhounds are undefeated at 13-0 overall on the season and 12-0 in conference play with the wins. They travel to Stewart for a conference game with Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart at 5 p.m. Monday.
MVL (3-8, 2-7) hosts Wabasso for conference play on Monday.
