The Le Mars Community softball team opened their home schedule with a 6-4 loss in game one to Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson. Game two of the doubleheader did not finish due to insufficient lighting at the ballpark.
The Bulldog offense could not string enough things together leaving nine baserunners aboard in the first game. Head coach Brooke Berkenpas says the Bulldogs need to get back to having some patience in the box.
If there was one bright spot at the plate, it was the bottom of the order for the Bulldogs who drove in three of the four runs in the first game and scored two of the three in the suspended second game. Specifically, Mya Skov had a great night with four hits, two doubles, two runs, and an RBI. Coach Berkenpas hopes some of that will start to rub off on the top of the order as well.
In the circle, Le Mars has been lights out shutting down hitter after hitter. Counting the five innings in the suspended game, the pitching staff is averaging 12.32 strikeouts per seven innings. Coach Berkenpas says both Kylie Hofmann and Brenna Leraas are being rewarded for the work they have put in this offseason to get better.
The Bulldogs are nowhere near done with this week with four games on tap at the Heelan Softball Classic in Sioux City. Coach Berkenpas says most things look good for the girls, but the main key will be staying patient at the plate and making solid contact like they know they can.
The Bulldogs start the Heelan Softball Classic with a matchup against the fourth-ranked team in Class 3A and an old Lakes Conference rival in Estherville-Lincoln Central. They will also take on Kingsley-Pierson/River Valley, Spirit Lake, and Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley.
