Coach Bob Tabeling looks for his Trinity Lutheran softball team to put together better at bats today against Hauser than what it did Monday against Scottsburg.
On Monday the Cougars (9-8) managed only one hit, a single in the seventh inning by Ally Russell, and lost 7-0 to the Warriors.
“We didn’t have any offense at all,” Tabeling said. “They have three really nice pitchers from that standpoint. Those were probably their second and third pitchers. We didn’t even see their top pitcher.
“We knew we were going to face good pitching when you have a school like that that has a great record. They’re competitive and they stay in the game.”
The Warriors entered the week ranked No. 20 in the state in Class 3A.
“We had a couple of calls that didn’t go our way early, but we battled back from that,” Tabeling said.
Bailey Tabeling opened the bottom of the first by reaching first base safely on an error, and Kamzi Gross walked with no outs. Genesis Munoz was called out on a close play at first base, and the next batter hit a fly ball to left field that ended the threat.
Abbey Martin singled in the second inning and scored, and she was safe on a fielder’s choice in the fourth inning and scored again to give the Warriors a 2-0 lead. The visitors used a pair of hits and an error to make it a 3-0 game in the fifth.
Tabeling said he felt like his team was still within striking distance through the fifth before Sydney Mayer and Deanna King hit back-to-back solo home runs in the sixth.
“You get into the fifth and sixth inning and its 3-0 you’re still in the game,” Tabeling said. “We’ve got to get some hits and we just didn’t do that.”
The Cougars went out in order in the second, third and fourth innings. Russell led off the fifth with a single, and with two out Samantha Enzinger walked but a strike out ended that inning.
Scottsburg took advantage of two Trinity errors to score two unearned runs in the top of the seventh.
Russell singled with one out in the bottom of the seventh. The next batter hit into a fielder’s choice and the following batter grounded out to first to end the game.
“We’ve got to piece some things together somehow and we didn’t do that,” Tabeling said. “We didn’t have good plate appearances, and that’s going to happen against good pitching.”
Trinity batters struck out four times and drew three walks.
Gross allowed 11 hits, she struck out three and didn’t walk any.
Todays’ game will be senior night for the Cougars with Bailey Reynolds and Munoz being honored before the game.
Jaryn Holtsclaw, who was a senior last year but didn’t get to play because of Covid 19, will also be honored tonight.
“We need to come and we need to be ready,” Tabeling said of today’s game.