Harris-Lake Park pushed across seven runs in the final three inning to knock off Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn 9-4 June 23 at Hartley. HMS had carved out a 3-2 lead before the breakout by the Wolves, who notched their first win of the season.
Give credit to HLP – they came to play and hit the ball well,” said Hawk head coach Stephanie Bronstad. “The Hawks hit early but couldn’t find the gaps later in the game. We had low errors (three) but ones we couldn’t afford to have. It was a good game between the two but our hitting just wasn’t on tonight. Taya (Mason) pitched a strong game and Gracie (Knobloch) came in to finish. The change was made due to HLP hitting and our girls not mentally being there.”
Mason went 4-1/3 innings in the circle, allowing five runs (four earned) on seven hits. She struck out five batters, walked three and hit one. Knobloch’s 2-2/3 innings yielded four earned runs on four hits with two strikeouts and two walks.
HMS scored a single run in each of the first two innings. Jessica Riedemann led off the bottom of the first with a single. She took second on a wild pitch and went to third on Elly Klein’s ground ball to the pitcher. Another comebacker allowed Darby Mastbergen to pick up the RBI as Riedemann scored.
In the second Elle Mastbergen singled and Mason walked but both were lost on the bases. After reaching base on a fielder’s choice, Eliza Tewes went to second when Paige Gehrke walked. Tewes advanced to third on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Riedemann and from there was able to score on a wild pitch.
After HLP tied the game at 2-2 with single runs in the third and fourth innings, the Hawks broke the tie in the bottom of the fourth. Mason drew a walk and wild pitches enabled her to move up two bases. After Riedemann walked, she and Mason pulled off a double steal with the latter stealing home.
Down 5-3 in the fifth, HMS added a final run. Knobloch hit a one-out single. When Cadence Klein reached base with the aid of an error, Knobloch was able go all the way to third. From there she scored on an error by the catcher.
Knobloch had a double and two singles on the night. The other three hits, all singles, came from Riedemann, Elle Mastbergen and Elly Klein.
HLP 0 0 1 1 3 1 3 – 9
HMS 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 – 4