High School Girls
Softball Regionals
Railers fall to Washington 8-7 in regional championship
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[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.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2024/May/28/images/ads/current/bauer_sda_PROMGRAD_2024.png)
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.
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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.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2024/May/28/images/ads/current/culligan_sda_PROMGRAD_2024.png)
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] |