Lady Bulldogs two-time Eureka at home

By Trent Makela / Leader Staff

The St. Ignatius softball team saddled Mattea Grant's all-around performance last Thursday, trampling Eureka in a home doubleheader and finding another pitching ace along the trail.

Grant allowed just four hits in the opening 13-3 win for the Lady Bulldogs (5-2), her third in four starts. She also had a career day at the plate in the Western B-C contests, finishing 5-for-8 with five RBIs.

Kyla Olson tossed a one-hitter in the second game for St.Ignatius, winning 14-3 in the first start of her career. She also contributed a double to her own cause.

"I was really happy with our pitching. Both [Grant and Olson] went the distance — that means we're getting stronger as the season goes on," St. Ignatius coach Steve Woll said. "We're improving our arm strength, confidence and ability to throw strikes. It also helped that our defense was on their toes."

Senior Katie McDonald left her own mark on the games, catching for both pitchers and going 4-for-6 with five RBIs and a home run.

"Katie finally got our team's first homer of the year. She's really hitting the ball well," Woll said. "Hopefully we've gotten [the first home run] out of the way and more will follow."

The Lady Bulldogs comfortably controlled the early game after jumping out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning. Steady run support ballooned the lead to the final 13-3 margin in the bottom of the sixth, ending the game under the 10-run rule.

"The two games were similar, but we did a better job of moving people around in the first game," Woll said. "We put pressure on the girls by saying it was a must win and they got it done."

The second game got off to a tight start for St. Ignatius, but they managed to carry a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the third. An eleven-run barrage over the next three innings sealed another 10-run rule victory midway through the sixth.

"Hitting's all about timing and we swung better in the second game. The girls had seen some pitches by then and had settled in," Woll said. "We gave them a couple chances to crawl back in it, but were able to make some big defensive plays."

St. Ignatius' Saturday game at Florence was rescheduled due to the weather.

The Lady Bulldogs will travel to a tournament in Conrad this Friday and Saturday with a field also consisting of Columbus, Shepherd, Poplar, Sunburst and the hosts.

"We drove down to Florence last week and had to turn around. Now Conrad has six inches of snow. Hopefully we won't get rescheduled again," Woll said.

First game

St. Ignatius 13, Eureka 3

Eureka 001 020 — 3 4

St. Ig. 513 103 — 13 12

W - Grant (3-1). L - Shay.

EUREKA — Jenna Swain 1-4, Auna Lawler 0-3, Carly Hammond 2-3, Steph Vogelman 0-4, Klairee Shay 0-1, Shyann Vandehey 1-3, Courtney Morrison 0-3, KaeDee Shay 0-1, Courtney Lindgren 0-3.

ST. IGNATIUS — M. Grant 3-5, Dalena Weaselhead 1-4, McDonald 2-4, Kelcie Apland 1-3, Jasmine Gilleard 0-1, Rachel Jensen 2-4, Shianne Montgomery 0-2, Carlee Allestad 1-2, Bella Dally 1-2, Jonna Grant 1-2, Sierra Scott 0-1, Olson 0-1, Kilee Bartschi 0-1.

Second game

St. Ignatius 14, Eureka 3

Eureka 020 001 — 3 1

St. Ig. 303 35x — 14 10

W - Olson (1-0). L - Lawler.

EUREKA - Swain 0-2, Lawler 0-3, Hammond 0-3, Vogelman 0-2, Vandehey 0-1, Morrison 0-2, KaeDee Shay 1-2, Kl. Shay 0-1, Lindgren 0-1.

ST. IGNATIUS - M. Grant 2-3, Weaselhead 2-4, McDonald 2-2, Apland 1-3, Jensen 1-2, Montgomery 1-2, Dally 1-3, J. Grant 0-1, Olson 1-2, Scott 0-1.