Fastest to Five

Spring sports is finally fully upon us.  Teams will be very active as they transition from indoor practices directly to outdoor games.  The best returning team in the county, Chatfield softball, had five games over three days its first week.  Their stellar sophomore pitcher performed an impressive feat.   Mark Eickhoff’s girls opened by sweeping two at PEM.  Game one was a pitchers’ dual between Lexi Chase and Hayley Dessner.  An Alanna Goetzinger triple and Abby Nosbisch single plated the first run (fourth).  PEM replied, getting a runner on via error, plating it via Ellie Miller 2-out RBI-double (fifth).   Chatfield answered a ½ inning later.  Chase walked, was sacrificed to second by Carlie Berge, and scored via senior Britney Fretland’s RBI-single.  Down 2-1, PEM stranded a runner at second (sixth) and at third (seventh) late.  Chatfield prevailed 2-1 behind Chase’s 15 strikeouts (7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, Win, 2-3, 2B, R).  Goetzinger (2-3, 3B, R), Fretland (2-4, RBI), and Nosbisch (1-2, RBI) helped.  The second game was less tight.  PEM got two in the first, but Shelby Isensee’s 2-run home run tied it immediately.   Chatfield went ahead via Belle Berg’s 2-run home run (fourth).  A four-run fifth helped ice it.  The Gophers prevailed 9-4.   Isensee (2-4, HR, 2 RBI, R), Fretland (3-3, two 2B, R), Berge (3-3, 2 RBI, 7 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 6 K, 2 BB, Win), Berg (2-run HR), and Nosbisch (2-4, RBI, 2 R) led the way.  Next up, the Gophers won 3-0 at La Crescent.  Chase (7 IP, 5 H, 0 BB, Win, 2-4, 2B) had another 15 strikeouts, a shut-out.  Berg (3-4, 2B, RBI, R), Berge (3-4), and Kim Greiner (1-3, 2B, R) led the “O.”  D-E then came to town.  In game one, behind a six-run third, Chatfield won 14-4 (six innings).  Nosbisch, one of only two new Gopher starters, led the way with 5 RBIs (3-4, 3B, R).  Isensee (3-4, two 2B, RBI), Greiner (2-3, 2 RBI, 2 R), and Berge (2-4, RBI, 6 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 7 K, Win) helped.  Behind a seven-run second, the Gophers took game two 13-5.  Chase, after a rare 0-4 in game one, went 4-5 (2B, HR, 4 RBI, R, 7 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 9 K, Win (3-0)).  The walk ended a string of 41 strikeouts without a pass.  Chase (3-0) began this year with a 38:0 strikeout to walk ratio.  Greiner (2-3, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R) also touched all the bases via a routine, bad-hop-at-short, outfielders-bad-angles, inside the park home run.  McKenna Daniels (2-5, two 2B, 2 RBI, R) added two hits.  Defending TRC-West and 1AA East champion Chatfield is 5-0 (TRC/overall).