MACA softball comes on very strong

MACA softball enjoyed a romp in both ends of a Friday doubleheader. The Tigers squared off against the BOLD Warriors. BOLD was not up to the task of challenging coach Mary Holmberg's Tigers. Indeed, MACA won with a total flourish by scores of 18-0 and 15-0.
In the game 1 romp with the 18-0 score, we got going with three runs in the first inning, two in the second and nine in the third. The hitting was complemented by errorless fielding. BOLD was limited to three hits and they committed five errors.
Two MACA pitchers limited the BOLD bats to the negligible output. It was Liz Dietz getting the win with three innings of work, in which she struck out three batters, walked one and allowed two hits. Kenna Kehoe handled pitching for the only other inning. Kendall Mack took the pitching loss for BOLD and was roughed up by the MACA bats. She also issued eight walks.
The offensive review shows Bailey Marty with a hit and three runs scored. Emma  Bowman had a hit, two RBIs and a run. Dietz's bat came through with two hits and she crossed home plate twice. Jen Solvie had a hit along with two each in RBIs and runs. Kenzie Hockel was a major force with a three-for-four line including a double. Kenzie drove in three runs and scored two.
Katelyn Wehking was a perfect two-for-two, drove in a run and scored three. Still another hot bat was shown by LaRae Kram: three-for-four including a double, three RBIs and two runs. Macee Libbesmeier went 1/2 with an RBI and a run. Kenna Kehoe had a hit in her only at-bat. Riley Decker had a hit, an RBI and a run. Our line score was 18-16-0.
The three BOLD hits were by Jordan Johnson, Megan Ridler and Devyn O'Halloran. Ridler and O'Halloran hit doubles.
 
Game 2: Kehoe pitches distance
Kenna Kehoe took over for pitching chores and excelled in the Friday twin bill action. She pitched the distance, thrilling I'm sure my old co-worker and friend Janet Kehoe, not to mention Bill Kehoe, who I used to write about when he played for the CAHN Spartans. I guess he's not a kid anymore. Anyway, Kenna struck out four batters and walked none in the sterling 15-0 victory over BOLD. She allowed just two hits. Bravo!
I remember covering C-A football when it was at the Metrodome for Prep Bowl. The only "down" note of those experiences was when George Dieter was befallen by serious health problems.
The losing pitcher for BOLD was Caylee Weber. Kilee Elfering also pitched for the Warriors.
We out-hit BOLD 8-2 and out-fielded them as we had but one error while BOLD committed three. Our deciding rally was in the third: eleven runs in, a parade of orange and black. Bailey Marty had a hit and scored two runs. Emma Bowman drove in a run and scored two. Liz Dietz was again a factor with her two-for-two showing, two runs batted in and three runs scored. Carissa Oberg had a hit in her only at-bat and drove in two runs.
Jen Solvie socked a double, drove in two runs and scored one. Kenzie Hockel had a hit and scored two runs. LaRae Kram had a hit, an RBI and run. Katelyn Wehking drove in a run and scored one. Kehoe crossed home plate once. Riley Decker had a hit and crossed home plate twice.
The two BOLD hits were by Megan Ridler and Elfering.
 
Success vs. Benson
The Benson diamond was the site for overwhelming MACA softball success Thursday. Is Benson just alone in softball now? Is it no longer "Benson-Hancock?" Yours truly finds it harder keeping up on things these days. For ages it was "Benson-Hancock." The coach joked about how maybe the team should be called the "BOwls" (pronounced bowels). It seemed common to refer to them as the "Brave Owls" which was quite nice. I don't know if that was the official nickname.
For years I'd write "Morris-Donnelly" and then I was informed there was nothing legal about the name, it was just sort of a gentleman's agreement. Ditto with "Morris Middle School." I typed that countless times and was then informed there was nothing official about the term. The Friday Willmar newspaper simply stated "Benson" as our softball opponent. I'll go with that even though that paper is known to have lapses sometimes.
So, ahem: the Tigers played a dandy game on Thursday led by Liz Dietz. We won 16-1 in four innings of play. Pretty explosive and efficient. Dietz's bat produced a grand slam! Her RBI harvest for the afternoon was six. She had a two-for-four line as her team produced eleven hits. We were superior everywhere on the diamond: we had but one error while Benson had six. The Benson hit total was four.
The Willmar paper keeps referring to us as "MCA" when it should be "MACA." One of the co-writers of the article is Tom Larson. He would never admit that his paper ever makes a mistake.
The Tigers erupted early and often with two runs in the first inning and three each in the second and third. But the big inning was the fourth with eight runs coming in. The game ended early mercifully.
Bailey Marty had an RBI and a run scored. The Willmar paper spelled her last name "Marti." Emma Bowman drove in two runs and scored two. Jen Solvie went one-for-three with an RBI and a run scored. Mackenzie Hockel was a perfect two-for-two with two each in RBIs and runs.
Katelyn Wehking went 1/2 with an RBI and run scored. The hit parade continues with LaRae Kram at two-for-three with a pair of runs scored, and Carissa Oberg went two-for-four with two ribbies and a run. Riley Decker had a hit in her only at-bat, plus she drove in a run and scored two.
These four Benson (Braves?) each had one hit: Hannah Andrews, Ellie Moesenthin, Abby Lundebrek and Maranda Wieber. Moesenthin's hit was a double. Lundebrek drove in a run.
Dietz in her pitching work struck out three batters, walked one and allowed four hits. The one run she allowed was unearned. Wehking was handed the ball for one inning of pitching. She set down two batters on strikes, walked one and allowed no hits.
Three players pitched for Benson: Zoe Doscher, Marissa Connelly and Calley Miller.
 
Success vs. ACGC
One-sided scores have been the norm for coach Holmberg's wrecking crew. Indeed, there is little suspense in most games. Such was the case on Tuesday, April 23, when the orange and black took care of business in a twin bill vs. Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City. MACA pounded out 14 hits in a 14-3 romp over the Falcons.
The highlight was a three-run home run off the bat of Kenzie Hockel who had two hits. Liz Dietz had a two-for-three line with two runs batted in. Jen Solvie rapped two hits in four at-bats and drove in three runs. Other Tigers hitting safely were Bailey Marty, Emma Bowman, Carissa Oberg, LaRae Kram, Kendra Wevley, Kenna Kehoe, Riley Decker and Jadyn Roth. Oberg's bat drove in two runs. Wevley's hit was a double.
Three ACGC Falcons had multiple-hit games: Nicole Whitcomb, Pailey Wilner and Rachel Wilner.
Featured on the pitching rubber for the victorious Tigers was Kehoe whose arm reliably handled the six innings. She fanned two batters and walked none. The losing pitcher was Shayna Hobson who didn't fool the Tiger bats at all. Our line score was 14-14-1.
 
Beating the Falcons 11-1
The other Tuesday game vs. ACGC had a similar outcome, meaning lots of opportunities to cheer for the Tiger faithful. In this game it was Emma Bowman wielding the homer bat. Bowman excelled with her three-for-four line in this 11-1 triumph. Her RBI harvest was four and she scored a run.
Kenzie Hockel was a perfect two-for-two and she drove in two runs. Katelyn Wehking and Riley Decker each added two hits to the mix. Other Tigers hitting safely were Bailey Marty, Jen Solvie and LaRae Kram. ACGC had just two hits which were by Shayna Hobson and Abbie Kragenbring.
It was Liz Dietz showcased on the pitching end of things, and this Tiger fanned three batters, walked two and gave up two hits in her five innings. Lindsey Minnick was the losing pitcher. Our line score was 11-15-0. If you add up the individuals as reported by the Willmar paper, the hit total is 12, not 15. We had zero errors.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com