Extraordinary is Chatfield Gopher softball. The program has been very good for quite some time. This year’s young group has taken it to another level; regular season perfection. Mark Eickhoff’s girls wrapped up a third straight TRC-West title by beating St. Charles 11-0 (five). Lexi Chase (5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 10 K, Win, 1-2, RBI, 2 R), Belle Berg (2-3, 3B, RBI, 2 R), Teagan Allen (1-3, 2B, 3 RBI, R) and Haley Goetzinger (2-3, 2B, 2 RBI, R) cued the attack. D-E then fell 7-4. Chatfield rallied from down 4-2. Berg (2-4, HR, 5 RBI) blasted her fourth long ball. Carlie Berge (4 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 7 K, 3 BB, ND) and Chase (3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 8 K, 2 BB, Win) struck out 15. Chatfield won an earlier meeting 5-3. Strong GMLOK then came to town. The Gophers won 5-4 in April. The re-match was up to task for 4 ½ innings. A 0-0 game was smashed by a 12-run Gopher fifth. A couple Bulldog misplays opened the floodgates. A crooked number was likely going up regardless. Chase and Shelby Isensee each had 2-run doubles. The senior Goetzinger capped the inning, ended the game (12-0), with a grand slam. Goetzinger (2-3, HR, 5 RBI, 2 R) and Chase (5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 11 K, Win, 1-3, 2B, 2 RBI, R) did the big work. Courtney Fate (2-2) had both Bulldog hit. Chatfield (18-0, 19-0), ranked #5 in AA, is the East’s 1-seed and hosts 8-seed FC/L (3-14, 4-16).
About Paul Trende
Sports Reporter
sports@fillmorecountyjournal.com