Pioneers rally falls short in Drummond

The Butternut/Mercer Pioneer softball team traveled to Grand View on Monday night for a conference matchup against the Drummond Lumberjills.

Drummond got the scoring started in the bottom of the first with 3 runs. The Pioneers answered in the top of the second inning with 2 of their own on a big 2 out, 2 RBI hit by Jenny Kopatek. Drummond scored 4 more runs in the bottom of the frame to push their lead to 7-2.

The Pioneers chipped away at the Drummond lead with a run in the third inning that started with a leadoff double by Anya Brandenberg, who then scored on a fielder's choice by Josie Wegner. Drummond added another run to make it 8-3.

In the fourth inning, Brandenberg got a clutch 2 out, 2 RBI hit to cut the lead to 8-5. Drummond again answered with two runs in the bottom of the fourth. Both teams scored one more in the fifth to make it a 10-6 game.

The Pioneers mounted another rally in the top of the sixth inning, scoring 4 runs. The rally started with a leadoff hit by Rylinn Rossie and a walk to Josie Wegner, followed by a big 2 RBI double by Anna Schloer. Jersey Polencheck worked a walk and runners advanced on wild pitches before both scored on another wild pitch, cutting the lead to 11-10.

Drummond pulled out another clutch 2 out hit with the bases loaded as they scored 4 to push the lead back to 5. The Pioneers got a smash to the fence by Lizzie Pritzl who came all the way around to score to start the seventh inning. But the rally ended there with the final score at 15-11.

"I was proud of how the girls kept battling back, but ultimately our defense really let us down today,” said Pioneers Coach Glenn Wegner. “All game long we kept giving Drummond more opportunities and they definitely took advantage. The energy from both teams at the end of the game made for a great game to watch. Some really big clutch hitting on both sides."

Next up next for Butternut/Mercer will be the Prentice Buccaneers on April 26 in Butternut.