High School Girls Softball Regionals
Railers fall to Washington 8-7 in regional championship


 

[May 28, 2024] 

The Railers softball team fell short of a Class 3A regional championship on Friday evening in Bloomington. The Railers suffered an 8-7 loss to the Washington Panthers in a game that saw a handful of lead changes.

Lincoln took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning as Taryn Stoltzenburg opened the game with a bunt single. Stoltzenburg stole second and reached third on an error. She would eventually get thrown out at home trying to score on a fielder’s choice. Grey Gilbert, who had reached base on a walk in her at bat, would score Lincoln’s first run on Faith Eckhardt’s hard hit grounder. Morgan Sheley drew a walk with the bases loaded to drive in the second Lincoln run.

An RBI single in the bottom of the first inning allowed the Panthers to cut the lead to 2-1.

In the bottom of the second inning the Panthers went ahead 3-2 on back-to-back RBI singles.

A two-run homer in the bottom of the third inning stretched the Panthers lead to 5-2.

Lincoln plated two runs in the top of the fourth inning. Emma Hutchison started the inning with a walk and Stoltzenburg had another bunt single. Stoltzenburg stole second but Hutchison was out trying to steal third. Gilbert managed to draw a walk and both her and Stoltzenburg scored when Kelsey Marten singled to center, making the score 5-4.

Stoltzenburg’s third single of the day came in the top of the sixth inning and after back-to-back walks, the Railers were ready to score some runs. However, Stoltzenburg was removed from the base paths when she was caught stealing. Gilbert did successfully steal third later on and she scored a run on a passed ball. Marten also drove in a run on a sacrifice fly. As Regan Kutz scored, the Railers took over the lead, 6-5 the score.

The lead didn’t last long as the Panthers came back in the bottom of the sixth inning to record four singles and three runs.

The top of the seventh inning began with the Railers reaching on back-to-back errors. Kate Farnam hit a sacrifice bunt to the pitcher that allowed Eckhardt to score. With Lincoln trailing 8-7 and a runner on third, the game would end in heartbreak. Hutchison struck out and Stoltzenburg lined out to end the game with Lincoln on the losing end.

The Panthers picked up the regional championship plaque with the 8-7 win over the Railers.

Lincoln had six hits versus Washington.

Taryn Stoltzenburg led the team with a 3-for-5 performance at the plate. She scored one run and stole two bases, bringing her season record to 47 stolen bases.

Stoltzenburg finishes the season as the lone senior on the team with a team-leading batting average of .431 and an OPS of .944. She led the team with 53 hits, 51 were singles and two were doubles. She scored a team-leading 45 runs and drew 15 walks on the season. She drove in six runs from the lead-off position.

Kelsey Marten had one hit and three RBIs.

Faith Eckhardt and Kara Farnam had one hit apiece for Lincoln.

Grey Gilbert had three walks and two stolen bases in the game.

Regan Kutz had two walks and two runs scored.

Madisen Wurth took the loss for Lincoln. She worked five and two-thirds innings, allowing ten hits and eight runs. She struck out four batters.

Regan Kutz pitched one-third of an inning, allowing one hit while facing two batters.

The Railers end the season with a 15-22 record.

There is a lot of young talent on this team and winning 15 games was really a very respectable season accomplishment.

[Teena Lowery]