Armstrong softball played two games last week amid a busy Northwest Suburban Conference schedule. The week started with a home game on April 23 against Andover, which the visiting Huskies won 12-5. Andover arrived in Plymouth amid a seven-game unbeaten run that had seen them defeat the likes of Maple Grove, Anoka, and North St. Paul.
Armstrong responded to adversity with one of its biggest wins yet, beating Coon Rapids 14-1 at home to improve its record to 3-4 in conference, 3-5 overall.
The Falcons hit the ground running with three runs in the first inning. Ella Cooley pitched the entire game for Armstrong and put in a steady shift, coordinating well with her infield of Sydney Primmer at first, Lexi Madson at second, Peyton Erickson at shortstop and Sam Lind at third.
Off to a strong start, Armstrong kept it coming with five more runs in the bottom of the second to make it 8-0. Erickson hit a two-RBI single to bring Aubrey McLouden and Cooley home before Fondow jogged home off of an error. An RBI triple for Lexi Madson got Elizabeth Brey home for the second time that night.
Strong defensive play from Primmer at first as well as good work in the outfield by Madison Fondow and Brianna Dumas kept the shutouts coming, setting up another big inning at bat. Erickson hit an RBI to bring Dumas home following eventful base running before Brey hit an RBI single to help McLouden earn her latest run. A two RBI double for Madson then earned runs for Cooley and Brey.
Cooley led a strong fielding performance for the Falcons as a whole on April 25, but Coon Rapids did find a point of attack in the top of the fourth, scoring their one run of the game.
Armstrong responded with two more runs from Gabby Berns and McLouden, with Fondow and Erickson picking up RBIs. The Cardinals were held at the top of the fifth, ending the game at 14-1 to Armstrong.
The total damage saw Erickson hit five RBI, while Madson hit four RBI and scored two runs. Brey had three runs and an RBI. Fondow had one run and an RBI, while McLouden scored three runs and Cooley scored two. Dumas and Berns each scored one run.
Armstrong softball head coach Arianna Crosby noted that the team has recently taken a moment to reflect on an up-and-down start to the season, working toward ways to improve.
“I sat down with them at practice yesterday and went through our conference standings, who we’ve played, who we’ve got left, and asked them to be intentional about how they approach practice and start games,” Crosby said. “I think they’ve felt that too, about halfway through the season, that we can be better.”
Crosby added that it is positive to see the team end a difficult run of losses with a strong win over Coon Rapids, who entered the game 2-2 in conference play.
“It’s super encouraging to see us play like this,” Crosby said. “Putting up 14 and just building confidence is huge because we can get down on ourselves sometimes, so this is great.”
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