For The Tribune

HOPE

Tuesday was singles night at Hauser.

Trinity Lutheran and the host Jets combined for 28 hits, and 27 of them were singles. Class A No. 6 Hauser mustered two more hits than the Cougars (15-13) on its way to a 12-7 victory.

“I’m really pleased with the way we hit the ball,” Trinity coach Chad Goecker said. “The girls have been really coming around. We’ve had some tough competition and seen some good pitchers here of late, and the girls have responded very, very well.”

Tuesday, the Cougars (6-7) did it against one of the best in the state in Class A in Tessa Sims. Genesis Munoz went 4 for 4 with two RBIs, Jodi Goecker went 3 for 4 and Jaryn Holtzclaw went 2 for 3 with two RBIs to lead Trinity at the plate.

The Cougars were especially adept at getting the bunt down, particularly with runners at third base. Holtzclaw, Hannah Deaton and Maddie Bell executed squeeze bunts in a three-run fourth.

“We were able to execute some bunts and do some different things,” Chad Goecker said. “It’s nice when you can work the short game and also hit the ball.”

The three-run fourth cut the Jets lead to 6-4, but Hauser scored three in the bottom of the fourth to push the lead to 9-4. Trinity scored three more in the fifth, but again, the Jets answered with three in the bottom of the inning against Morgan Gabbard to keep the Cougars at bay.

Trinity, which scored its first run in the first inning, committed four errors, but did throw two Hauser runners out at the plate.

“We knew tonight, we’d have to score a lot of runs to get the wins,” Chad Goecker said. “We just didn’t score enough. But I’m very proud of the way they responded.”