Teams battle conditions at Panther Invitational
Published 12:00 am Monday, April 23, 2007
NEW RICHLAND &8212; The teams at the New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale Geneva softball tournament had to battle tough weather conditions as well as their opponents.
The Albert Lea softball team finished in third place downing Glenville-Emmons 10-2 and Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton 16-10 but fell to NRHEG 11-10.
The Tigers hit the ball well all day long racking up double figure hits in all three games.
&8220;It was encouraging to see us hit the ball well, and it was a good sign getting hits from several players,&8221; Albert Lea head coach Chad Feikema said.
Against G-E, the Tigers finished with 17 hits with numerous girls having two hits in the game and Jenna Christensen finishing with three.
Nichelle Klatt finished the game striking out 10 in seven innings and giving up six hits.
Against NRHEG, the Tigers had a three-run lead in the sixth inning, but a couple of misplayed balls in the outfield allowed the Panthers to claim the close win.
Missy Webb went 4-for-4 in the game and Marisa Cottrell had three hits as Albert Lea had 18 total hits.
Klatt again went the distance striking out nine.
&8220;The girls were disappointed because it is a game we felt we had in our hands,&8221; Feikema said.
However, the Tigers would rebound by winning their final game of the day over JWP.
The five inning game saw the Tigers pound out 12 hits with Taryon Anderson collecting two inside-the-park home runs in the third inning.
The two wins helped the Tigers break into the win column for the first time this season as they look to carry that momentum into conference play.
After the loss to Albert Lea, the Wolverines would split their next two games winning over
Alden-Conger 7-6 and losing to Waterville-Elysian-Morristown 4-0 in five innings.
G-E had a 6-1 lead over the Knights in the sixth inning before A-C came back to tie the game.
Lindsey Lorenzen had a big game at the plate going 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI.
The Wolverines struggled at the tournament coming off a loss to Hope Lutheran 2-1 in 11 innings Friday.
G-E got its lone run in the game when Kylie Indrelie walked and scored on Ashley Lau&8217;s double.