Waterville-Elysian-Morristown Softball

By ADAM J.S. HOLT – Faribault Daily News

Once again, Trista Hering put together a dominant pitching performance. And the Buccaneers hit more than enough to back her up.

The Waterville-Elysian-Morristown softball team won a 12-2 non-conference game at Kenyon-Wanamingo Tuesday, getting six shutout innings from Hering and a three-run homer from Hailie Tegmeier.

“Trista was fantastic on the mound,” coach Crystal Lamont said. “She only gave up two hits and didn’t walk anyone. When she pitches that way we are tough to beat. Kailee Sendle finished the game. She pitched the seventh inning in her varsity pitching debut.”

Hering allowed two hits and didn’t issue a walk, striking out nine in the process. Sendle finished, allowing two earned runs on two hits and two walks, striking out one in the seventh.

Tegmeier’s homer came as part of a five-run sixth inning for WEM. Hering added a two-run double for the Bucs to finish the scoring in that frame.

Kate Masberg was 3 for 4 with two runs, a double and a stolen base. Riley Luebben went 3 for 4, and pinch-runner Ellie Ready scored three times running for her. Hayley Baker had a two-run single in the first inning, and WEM totaled 12 hits for the game while taking seven walks against K-W’s Emma Berquam.

The Bucs moved to 10-5 overall and host Blooming Prairie (11-2) at 4 p.m. Thursday. The Awesome Blossoms won the first meeting 5-3.

By MATT BIGELOW -Faribault Daily News

The Cardinals beat the Buccaneers earlier in the season thanks to timely hitting coupled with strong pitching and defense. The two teams followed the same script Monday, but this time it was the Bucs coming away with the win.

The Waterville-Elysian-Morristown softball team used a pair of two-run innings to beat Bethlehem Academy 4-3 at North Alexander Park to win its fourth game in a row.

“It was the game you would expect to have against them,” said BA head coach Maren Viland. “We’d hope it was the other way around but this was mostly what you’d expect between these two teams.”

A Hayley Baker two-run single gave the Bucs a 2-0 lead in the second inning, scoring McKenzie Kuball and Ellie Ready who was running for Riley Luebben.

WEM increased its lead to 4-0 in the third inning after Nicole Nuetzman poked a two-run single to right, scoring Kate Masberg and Hailie Tegmeier.

“We’re coming together,” said WEM head coach Crystal Lamont. “We’ve talked about just being there for each other and the girls have bought into that. Kate and Hailie have been carrying us for a while. Nicole has been making good contact lately and it was great to see her come through. Hayley has been wanting this so bad and she’s one of our big leaders. It was good to see her break out and get that two-run hit.”

BA came close to completing the comeback. Tess Glenzinski hit a single with one out in the seventh inning and reached third, representing the tying run with two outs before Grace Viland flew out to center field to end the game.

The Cards scored two runs in the third inning to trim WEM’s lead to 4-2 thanks to RBI singles from Breanna DeGrood and Viland, and they scored one run in the sixth on an error.

In a matchup featuring two strong offenses, the pitching and defense was once again a major factor in the outcome. Neither team hit the ball particularly hard, rather each team pieced together offense. The Bucs just pieced together a little more.

Trista Hering turned in another solid performance, allowing three runs on seven hits while striking out seven batters. Perhaps the most encouraging number from Hering’s performance was zero walks issued.

“Trista’s been throwing well,” said Lamont. “She started the season well and then lost her control a little bit. She’s been hitting her spots more lately and just recognizing that she doesn’t have to strike everybody out but just hitting spots consistently. She didn’t walk anybody which was huge. With their lineup, we don’t want to give anybody free passes, so that was big tonight.”

Shelby Meyer started the game for BA and had an uncharacteristically off game. She allowed four runs before Delaney Donahue came in to pitch. Donahue pitched well in relief though, striking out six over five innings.

“I was really proud of Delaney coming in and pitching well,” said Maren Viland. “She’s really improving as the seasons gone on. She’s improved as an overall player and I don’t know if there is something about her pitching well when she comes in when we are down but she seems to do well especially in that situation.”

WEM improves to 9-5 on the season and plays again at 4: 30 p.m. Tuesday at Kenyon-Wanamingo. BA drops to 10-4 and plays again at 5 p.m. Thursday at home against United South Central.

WEM 4, BA 3

WEM 022 000 0 — 4

BA 002 001 0 — 3

WP: Hering LP: Meyer

By MATT BIGELOW -Faribault Daily News

The Buccaneers’ bats didn’t wake up until late. Trista Hering kept them in the game until then and once they got going, there wasn’t much the Tigers could do.

The Waterville-Elysian-Morristown softball team scored five runs in the seventh inning to beat Medford 6-1 Friday.

Trista Hering broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the seventh with an RBI double which scored Makayla Paulson and Hayley Baker. Hering scored on an Allison Rients RBI single in the next at-bat. Rients scored after a series of errors. Kate Masberg reached on an error and Hailie Tegmeier drove her in with an RBI double.

“We were able to put a little more pressure on them and we broke it open in the seventh,” said head coach Crystal Lamont.

Hering was outstanding in the circle, allowing one unearned run in the first inning before cruising the rest of the way. She allowed just two hits and didn’t issue any walks or wild pitches while striking out eight.

“Trista pitched her best game of the season,” said Lamont. “She was hitting her spots tonight and controlling the batters.”

Hailie Tegmeier hit another home run in the game, blasting a solo shot in the fourth inning to tie the game up at 1-1.

WEM wraps up the week on a three-game winning streak, improving to 8-5 on the season. The Bucs play again at 5 p.m. Monday at Bethlehem Academy.

WEM 6, MHS 1

WEM 000 100 5 — 6

MHS 100 000 0 — 1

WP: Hering

By MATT BIGELOW – Faribault Daily News

Hailie Tegmeier’s been carrying the Buccaneers’ offense for what feels like a while now. She had some extra help Thursday from Kate Masberg.

Tegmeier and Masberg combined for six hits, two home runs and six RBI to lead the Waterville-Elysian-Morristown softball team to a 9-7 win over New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva.

“This wasn’t our cleanest game but we did enough to win,” said head coach Crystal Lamont. “We had some errors but girls made plays after to pick each other up. Hailie and Kate carried us offensively. Their back-to-back home runs changed the momentum in our favor. Our other players were patient and smart at the plate. They took advantage of some walks and Hailie and Kate drove them in.”

The duo went back-to-back with Masberg supplying a two-run home run before Tegmeier blasted a solo shot to take WEM from tied 4-4 to up 7-4. Tegmeier finished the game with three hits and four RBI while Masberg went 3 for 4 with a home run, a walk and two RBI. Megan Adank got on base in four of her five plate appearances, drawing three walks and getting hit by a pitch. Hayley Baker drew two walks as well.

Trista Hering allowed three earned runs over seven innings, allowing nine hits but only walking two batters while striking out six. NRHEG got all of its runs in the third and seventh innings.

After back-to-back losses in which the Bucs scored three and four runs, they’ve put together consecutive nine-run games. They are capable of putting those kinds of numbers up consistently.

“It’s been nice to get our offense scoring runs again,” said Lamont. “Trista was consistent and had some big strike outs at key moments.”

WEM improves to 7-5 on the season and plays again at 5 p.m. Friday at Medford.

WEM 9, NRHEG 7

By MATT BIGELOW – Faribault Daily News

The Buccaneers have been in a bit of a funk lately. Hailie Tegmeier might’ve hit them out it Tuesday.

Tegmeier drove in three runs, including two via a first inning home run, propelling the Waterville-Elysian-Morristown softball team to a 9-1 non-conference win over Randolph.

“We got things back on track tonight,” said head coach Crystal Lamont. “We put the ball in play and put pressure on their defense. Hailie got the team fired up with her two-run home run in the first inning. I think that helped take the pressure off our batters and allowed us to go to the plate with more confidence.”

McKenzie Kuball added a two-run double and the Bucs took advantage of some sloppy defensive play by the Rockets to score three runs in the third inning to put the game out of reach.

Trista Hering pitched her best game in a while too, striking out seven batters while allowing just one earned run. She allowed five hits and walked five batters, but worked out of some jams, getting help from her defense throughout the game.

“We played solid defense and didn’t commit any errors,” said Lamont. “We plan to carry that over to our conference games Thursday and Friday.”

WEM improves to 6-5 on the season and plays again at 5 p.m. Thursday at New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva.

WEM 9, Randolph 1