Lady Railers defeat Rochester Rockets 7-1

[April 30, 2021]  The Lady Railers hosted Rochester on the softball diamond Thursday afternoon and earned a 7-1 win over the Rockets.

Cara Farnam pitched a complete game for Lincoln, striking out 12 batters and allowing three hits and one unearned run in seven innings of work.

The Lady Railers offense scored four runs in the bottom of the first inning. Emily Paulus drew a leadoff walk. With one out, Cara Farnam singled to left field. A single up the middle by the cleanup hitter, Ryen Stoltzenburg, allowed Paulus to come racing home with the first run of the game. Mya Kirgan then crushed the ball all the way to the centerfield fence, scoring Farnam. With two outs and runners on second and third, Chloe Johnston sent a base hit to centerfield, bringing home Stoltzenburg and Mya Kirgan. The Lady Railers lead was 4-0 after the first inning.

The Lady Railer bats were still on fire in the second inning. The no. 9 hitter, Cassie Bridge, led off the inning with a base hit to center. Paulus came up to bat and promptly smashed a double to deep centerfield. Abbie Glenn then put the ball in play to second base and Bridge came home to score. Farnam then hit the ball hard to short and Paulus scored. The inning ended with Mya Kirgan flying out to right field, but the Lady Railers were on top 6-0.

The only run by the Rockets came in the top of the fourth inning. The leadoff batter reached base on an error and after stealing second base, that runner would score on a base hit with no outs. Farnam then induced two groundouts to second base and a pop fly to escape further damage.

Ballgames are won with a good catcher. Senior Emily Paulus sits behind the plate for the Lady Railers.

The Lady Railers were quick to get the run back in the bottom of the fourth inning. Paulus sent another double to centerfield and she came around to score when Glenn slugged a single to center. The Lady Railers lead was now 7-1.

Cara Farnam's dominate pitching performance vs. Rochester fueled the Lady Railers to a 7-1 win.

With Farnam dealing from the circle, the Lady Railers took that 7-1 lead into the seventh inning with confidence.

Rochester did get a couple hits off Farnam in the top of the seventh inning. With runners on second and third with only one out, the Rockets were a threat the score. But Farnam added one more strikeout to her stat sheet for the day and then she ended the game fielding a ground ball and tossing it over to first for the final out of the game.

Lincoln wins 7-1 over Rochester.

The Lady Railers improve their record to 4-1 on the season.

The Lady Railers opened their 2021 season with a 4-2 win over Springfield High School on April 17th. Lincoln then crushed Jacksonville 11-0 on April 23rd.

This week the Lady Railers defeated Auburn 13-3 on Monday. On Tuesday Bloomington handed Lincoln a 4-1 loss.

Lincoln will play at Sacred Heart-Griffin today at 4 p.m.

[Teena Lowery]