SPOONER — It’s always a treat for fans when a pair of Washburn County neighboring towns get together to compete in sports, and that was the case as the Spooner Rails hosted Northwood/Solon Springs (NWSS) in softball on April 15.
The two teams were about as even as could be, battling late into the contest. In the end, Spooner picked up a couple late runs to slip past the Evergreens 8-6.
Spooner jumped into a 3-0 lead. After three innings of play, the Rails were ahead 5-0, but NWSS refused to roll over. In the top of the fifth, the Evergreens came up with a big inning, tying the score at 5-5 and then going out in front 6-5.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Spooner runner Devin Danielsen slid safely into third base, avoiding the tag by NWSS third baseman Audrey Swanson. Danielsen later scored, tying the contest at 6-6.
Spooner runner Annalie Lindgren came home to score later in the inning, putting the Rails ahead 7-6. Rails batter Lily Hotchkiss ripped a hit and later scored, making the final 8-6.
NWSS recap“We did not play great softball last week at all and that continued last night through the first couple innings when we spotted them a 5-0 lead,” said Northwood/Solon Springs coach Jackson Terry. “Things started to turn around in the 4th inning when we scored 6 runs and put a lot of quality at bats together.
“Disappointed we weren’t able to come out on top, but hopefully a step in the right direction for us as we get into the heart of our conference schedule over next few weeks. We are still striking out way too much, having way too many scoreless innings offensively, and need to do a better job defensively of getting out of innings when we have the opportunity.”
Coach Terry was proud of the Evergreen girls and their effort.
“Proud of the girls for battling back after falling behind early and hope to build some positive momentum off of it. Special shoutout to our very young and inexperienced outfield, as they did not have an error and played a big role in us being able to keep the game competitive,” said Terry
For NWSS in the game, Lily Borst reached base 4 times.
“Paetyn Simenson and Izzy Golembiewski both drove in a run for us on big hits,” said Terry. “Kailynn Blegen drove in 2 with a big hit in that 4th inning while playing a very solid game in center field. Audrey Swanson had a sensational game defensively at third base and also had an RBI.
Spooner recap
The Rails were led offensively by Danielsen, going 3-4 at the plate, with 2 RBIS. Peyton Steines was 2-3 with an RBI. Ava Thompson was 2-3 batting. And Hotchkiss, Lily Bauer, Kara Johnson and Alaska Johnson all recorded hits in the game.
Lindgren was the winning pitcher for the Rails in the game.
“The Rails jumped out early with a 5-0 lead, but a rally by Northwood/Solon gave them the lead 6-5 with the Rails putting a rally together and regaining the lead at 8-6,” said Spooner coach Brian Amys. “We came out early and played well, but we need to put a complete game together and finish strong.
“We are putting the ball in play, but we are missing the sweet spot by just a bit to put together a string of solid base hits. It’s a tough time of year to work on things when you play games three or four nights a week; we have to be able to adjust on the go and learn quick.”
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