Wolverines start off strong, but run out of steam

Published 10:57 pm Friday, May 5, 2017

: Glenville-Emmons' Lani Poole throws out a pitch during Friday's game against Lyle-Pacelli in Glenville. - Colleen Harrison/Albert Lea Tribune

Glenville-Emmons softball falls to Lyle-Pacelli

GLENVILLE — The Wolverines started off strong, but in the end it wasn’t enough.

The Glenville-Emmons softball team lost to Lyle-Pacelli Friday in Glenville, 13-8.

The Wolverines kept pace with the Athletics through four innings, entering the fifth inning ahead of Lyle-Pacelli, 8-7. The Wolverines would fail to score the rest of the night, though.

“Tonight we hit good, played good defense other then one inning — the fifth inning,” Glenville-Emmons coach Lisa Ziebell said. “We had the lead 8-7 going into the inning and we held them the next two innings. Take that inning out and we win the game.”

Zoe Gerlach of Glenville-Emmons bats during Friday’s loss to Lyle-Pacelli. – Colleen Harrison/Albert Lea Tribune

Still, there were highlights to take away from the game, Ziebell said.

Senior catcher Kayla Gerber hit her first home run, which also happened to be a grand slam over-the-fence home run.

“I knew it was going over the moment she hit it. That is what it is all about, seeing an athlete you coach accomplish (something) only a few other have done,” Ziebell said. “So happy for her, and better yet, it was great to see the team get so excited for a teammate.”

The loss brought the Wolverines record to 2-4 on the season and 2-3 in the Southeast Conference.

Next, Glenville-Emmons will go on the road to play Medford at 4:30 p.m. Monday. The Wolverines previously lost to the Tigers 12-10 on April 22. Medford (5-6 overall, 1-5 Gopher Conference) is coming off of a 6-1 loss to Waterville-Elysian-Morristown from Friday.