June 2 found the Merrill Bluejay Girls Softball Team heading southwest to play ball.
“Merrill took to the road to complete a suspended game against Marshfield,” Coach Matthew Ellenbecker said. “The game began in the bottom of the second inning with a leadoff home run from Tigers catcher Madalen Bornbach, and the home team would never relinquish the lead.”
Coach gave us some of the play-by-play: “Marshfield would tack on two in the third and three in the fourth innings, taking advantage of some well-placed base hits and four walks.”
“Marshfield ace Courtney Donahue was dealing in the circle, but the Jays would break through in the fifth inning. Kendall Krueger led things off with a single, and Zoe Berna followed up with a single of her own. With two outs, Dani Korman drove in Krueger with a line drive to right field.”
Merrill threatened in the top of the seventh, he said. “Senior Kennedy Berndt kicked things off, reaching on an error by the Tigers. Brenna Steinagel followed up by shooting a base hit through the right side. Dani Korman advanced the runners with a ground out to second base, and Berndt would score on Olivia Losee’s ground out to the SS. With two outs, Courtney Krueger scorched a triple to right field to score Steinagel to drive in the Jays’ final third run.”
Box score
Merrill 3 @ Marshfield 7
The Merrill Bluejay Girls Softball Team played a double header on Tuesday, June 1, against SPASH at the MARC.
“The Blue Jays struck first in the bottom of the third inning, but ultimately some defensive gaffes and runners left on base proved too costly,” Coach Ellenbecker said of the first game.
“Merrill took the lead in the bottom of the third inning when Hannah Losee drew a two-out walk with the bases loaded to score Brenna Steinagel,” Coach said.
“That lead would be short-lived, as SPASH tied the game up at one run apiece in the top of the fourth inning after Maddy Miklesh led off with a triple and scored on a fielder’s choice ground ball to Allison Palecek.”
“The fifth inning proved to be the decisive frame, as three Merrill misplays allowed SPASH to ultimately plate four runs to take a 5-1 lead. Courtney Krueger led off the bottom of the fifth inning with a base hit, and following a couple of SPASH errors, Zoe Berna’s two-out base hit drove in a second Merrill run in the inning. That cut the lead to 5-3, which would hold up as the final score.”
In the end, “Courtney Krueger pitched five innings for the Jays, allowing seven hits and three earned runs. She walked two and struck out three,” Coach said. “Kendall Krueger pitched the final two innings, allowing three hits with one strike out.”
From the batting side of things, “Addison Schmeltzer led the Jays with two hits.” he added
Box score – Game 1
SPASH 5 @ Merrill 3
“The Bluejays rapped out 13 hits, but left 10 runners on base in a 8-5 loss in game 2 of the twinbill,” Coach Matthew Ellenbecker summarized.
It was hard to take because the girls started out strong.
“Once again the Jays led in the game, taking a 5-4 lead in the top of the fifth inning,” Coach said. “But the Panthers would storm back with four runs in the bottom of that frame to take the lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.”
“The bottom of the order did work for the Jays, with Zoe Berna (2 2Bs), Brenna Steinagel (3B), and Dani Korman (3-4) combining for seven hits and four runs scored,” he added. “Olivia Losee tacked on two hits from the lead off spot.”
“In the circle, Addison Schmeltzer and Kendall Krueger combined to allow 13 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 3 SPASH hitters in the game,” Coach said.
Box score – Game 2
Merrill 5 @ SPASH 8
Summary
“We played a couple of really good teams this week,” Coach Matt Ellenbecker said. “It was disappointing not to take a game from these teams that we feel we can play with and beat. That first SPASH game was frustrating, as we just shot ourselves in the foot too many times. Mistakes are going to happen, but we need to minimize them, particularly mistakes on routine plays. We have to help our pitchers out a bit more defensively.”
“There were positives, for sure,” he said. “I thought our offense showed signs of beginning to click again. The bottom half of our order did a nice job in all of these games. Thirteen hits in that second game against SPASH was encouraging, and I think there were positives in our approach against a top-notch pitcher against Marshfield.”
But … “It’s June now, so it is do or die time. We can’t talk about what we have to do anymore. It’s time to start doing it, or our season will be shorter than we’d like,” Coach said. “I think we are ready to turn the corner and start stringing some wins together. I think our players, particularly our senior leaders, feel that, as well.”