The No. 11 Remsen St. Mary’s softball team clinched a tie for first in the War Eagle Conference softball standings on Monday night with a 6-1 win over Gehlen Catholic in Le Mars.
The Hawks had been running the War Eagle Conference for many years but took a step back last year after graduating a large senior class. Head coach Erika Bates says this is a great achievement for this year’s team.
Remsen St. Mary’s opened the scoring with three runs in both the fourth and the fifth innings on their way to the win. Four different Hawks provided run-producing at-bats in the two big innings. Coach Bates says she enjoys the depth that the Hawks have offensively.
Gehlen Catholic was held in check offensively all game from Hawk pitcher Neely Bacon who struck out 14 Jays on the night. Gehlen Catholic head coach Tony Kerkvliet says it appeared his team was just a bit behind the velocity Bacon was throwing.
Coach Bates says Bacon’s performance is indicative of how she attacks each hitter individually from at-bat to at-bat.
Gehlen Catholic was able to get a run back in the sixth inning with a Halle Walgenbach base hit, but by that point it was too late to stage a comeback. Coach Kerkvliet says he wants to see his team get going sooner in games.
Gehlen Catholic has two more games left before the postseason begins next Monday. One of those is against a state tournament contender in West Monona. Coach Kerkvliet says this loss should be a chance to learn and get better before some crucial games.
Remsen St. Mary’s has been the team to beat all season, and the go into the postseason with that knowledge as well. Coach Bates says that means her team will need to keep improving with the little things to be in the right spot once the regional tournament begins.
Gehlen Catholic returned to action on Tuesday at Sibley-Ocheyedan with a 9-0 win. They will host West Monona on Thursday before starting the postseason on Monday at Trinity Christian. Remsen St. Mary’s returns to action on Wednesday at Akron-Westfield before finishing the regular season on Thursday at Lawton-Bronson. They will open the tournament on Wednesday, July 8 against either South O’Brien or George-Little Rock.
