The Gehlen Catholic and MMCRU softball teams put up runs in a hurry in their matchup in Le Mars on Friday, but it was Gehlen Catholic coming away with a 14-8 victory.
Things were clicking right away for the Royals who came out to score four runs in the first inning and tack on another three by the midway point of the third inning. MMCRU head coach Kelly Tentinger says an aggressive approach at the plate led to the early success.
Meanwhile, Gehlen Catholic was down 7-0 heading to the bottom of the third and did not have a baserunner reach yet. Gehlen Catholic head coach Tony Kerkvliet says it took the Jays a while to get going.
Once the Jays were ready to go in that third inning, they were on a roll offensively. They scored six runs in the third, five in the fourth, and three in the fifth. Coach Kerkvliet says all it took was the first person to reach, and that led to the rest of the lineup following suit.
The Royals gave up the big inning in the third and just could not recover from it. It did not help matters that the Jays scored all their runs with two outs in the third adding to the mental toll of the inning. Coach Tentinger says the mental side of the game is an area where her team needs to get better.
The Royals, who dropped to 6-9 on the season, have shown improvement as the season has progressed. Heading into a five-game week, Coach Tentinger knows more improvement is necessary for the Royals to get back in the win column.
Coach Kerkvliet says the Jays can take a lot of positives out of this game. The obvious positive comes from their ability to always stay in the game even when getting down big in the early innings.
The Jays recorded seven extra-base hits in the win including a home run from Grace Kellen.
