Lincoln softball sweeps the CS8 competition on the diamond

[May 18, 2017]  The Lincoln Railsplitters Softball Team is on a roll versus Central State Eight teams. Dating back to last Friday night, the Railsplitters are 5-0 against their conference foes.

Vs Decatur MacArthur

Friday in Decatur the ladies swept MacArthur by scores of 13-1 and 9-1.

In the 13-1 stomping of the Generals, Chloe Laubenstein was on fire, going 4-for-4 at the plate with 3 RBIs. Kerstin Osborne helped her own cause by going 2-for-3 with an RBI. Lauren Block was 1-for-3 with an RBI. Sydney Sutherland was 1-for-3 with a run scored. Sydney Worth also drove in two runs.

The Railsplitters offense had nine hits and led 9-0 after three innings. The four runs scored by Lincoln in the fourth inning was icing on the cake and it was game over after MacArthur failed to score in their half of the fifth inning.

Osborne tossed five innings for Lincoln, giving up only one run on one hit while striking out six batters. She earned the win.

A perfect slide at home by Hope Moos to score a run.

In the 9-1 contest it was Hope Moos with a spectacular performance from the circle. The senior tossed seven innings, allowing one run on one hit and she sent twelve batters back to the dugout after called strike three. She earned the win and also had a base hit at the plate.

Block was 2-for-3 to lead the Railsplitters offense. Maddie Tanner also contributed a two-run single. Worth, Kayla Maly and Mackenzie Antoine also had hits for Lincoln. Lincoln had a total of seven hits in this game and on the base paths the ladies were off and running. The team had six stolen bases, with Antoine stealing two bases.

Lincoln led 8-0 after their half of the sixth inning.

The Generals finally scored in the bottom of the sixth inning, but Lincoln got that run back in the seventh inning.

Vs Jacksonville

Catching up to this week’s action, on Monday Lincoln handed Jacksonville a 14-4 loss while pounding out 18 hits.

Lauren Block with the base hit to help her team to the 11-0 win on Senior Night versus Eisenhower. 

Antoine and Tanner had three hits apiece for Lincoln while teammates Osborne, Block, Moos, Laubenstein and Worth had two hits apiece. Hits by Sutherland and Maly rounded out the 18-hit performance. Antoine also drove in three runs while Worth and Moos drove in two runs each.

Osborne and Moos both pitched versus Jacksonville. Osborne went five strong innings, striking out six batters. Moos finished the job working the final inning and striking out one batter.

Vs Decatur Eisenhower
Home Senior Night

May 16, 2017 - Erika Dzekunskas, Hope Moos, Lauren Block and Kaelin Butterfield were recognized on Senior Night for their contributions to Lincoln softball. All four have their college plans set. 

Tuesday afternoon the Railsplitters celebrated Senior Night and hosted Decatur Eisenhower. Senior softball players Lauren Block and Hope Moos were recognized before the game along with managers Erika Dzekunskas and Kaelin Butterfield.

Erika and Kaelin hard at work behind home plate. As managers the two have various duties, which include announcing and stat keeping for the Railsplitters.

On the field the ladies won 11-0 behind the one-hitter pitched by Moos. Moos was wheeling and dealing from the circle, quite comfortable with the 7-0 first inning lead the Railsplitters earned. Moos also recorded seven strikeouts. Her first inning double also scored a run for Lincoln.

Laubenstein continues to swing a hot bat. She was 3-for-3 with an RBI in the win.

The senior duo of Hope Moos and Lauren Block took center stage on the diamond versus Decatur Eisenhower. Moos pitched an 11-0 shutout of the Panthers. Moos also collected two hits and Block one hit in the win. 

The senior duo of Moos and Block accounted for the rest of the team’s hits.

Vs Decatur Eisenhower
@ Decatur

Wednesday afternoon Lincoln battled the wind and traveled to Decatur for game two with Eisenhower. This time the ladies came away with an 8-1 win while managing 14 hits.

There was a different offensive leader on this night. Sutherland was 3-for-3 at the plate while driving in a run. Bayleigh Gillum also belted three hits in four at-bats and she drove in two runs. Laubenstein collected two more hits and drove in a run. Antoine copied that herself, adding two more hits and an RBI to the offensive performance by Lincoln. Worth was the other starter with multiple hits for Lincoln. Moos and Tanner also had hits as Lincoln won their fifth straight game in CS8 play.

Osborne earned the win for Lincoln. She gave up just four hits and one run in seven innings of work.

Lincoln’s record currently sits at 14 wins and 15 losses.

Back to the seniors and their future plans. Lauren Block is set to attend Parkland College in Champaign on a softball scholarship and Hope Moos will attend Augustana College on a softball scholarship. Erika Dzekunskas plans to study Nursing at Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville and Kaelin Butterfield plans to study Engineering Technology at Illinois State University.

Best of luck to these ladies as they further their academic and athletic careers.

[Teena Lowery]