The No. 14 Akron-Westfield softball team had to stage a late-game comeback to defeat Gehlen Catholic on Tuesday night in Akron by the score of 5-4.
Outside of a manufactured run in the first inning, the Westerner bats did not do much of anything for the first four innings of the game recording just one hit. Akron-Westfield head coach Todd Colt says the pitch selection at the plate started off poor for the Westerners.
Gehlen Catholic used Akron-Westfield’s slow start and came up with a big three-run third inning that gave them a 3-1 lead for the next two innings. Gehlen Catholic head coach Tony Kerkvliet says it was nice for the Jays to get a couple of hits to follow each other and put runs on the board.
The fifth inning was the turning point for Akron-Westfield who got two of the first three baserunners on and three total runs to score in the inning. Those first two baserunners came from the eighth and ninth spots in the order setting up the inning for a lot of success. Coach Colt says he has a ton of strong-willed softball players on his team, and that showed in the fifth inning.
The fifth inning made the score 4-3. Akron-Westfield scored a crucial insurance run in the sixth that was followed by one more Gehlen Catholic run in the seventh to get to the final score of 5-4. Take away the two big innings for each side, and both pitchers were really strong all night. Coach Kerkvliet says Addie Konz was keeping Westerner hitters guessing.
Take away Gehlen’s third inning, and Emma Rolfes allowed just one run with five hits in the contest. Coach Colt says, when she has things dialed in, she is pretty tough to hit.
Gehlen Catholic drops to 10-8 and 5-2 in the War Eagle Conference with the loss. The big Akron-Westfield fifth inning was helped along by a pair of Gehlen Catholic errors. With the postseason right around the corner, Coach Kerkvliet knows the Jays will have to shore that up to keep the postseason going as long as possible.
The Westerners improved to 18-4 on the year and are now 8-1 in the War Eagle Conference. Akron-Westfield’s first four innings left a lot to be desired offensively, and that can not happen in the tournament. Coach Colt knows that and says it has been good to get some production from the bottom of the order to help get things going like they did against the Jays.
Both teams find out their postseason fate later today with the regional pairings coming out from the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union.
