Lady Savages roughed up by tough competition

The Lady Savages had won nine of their past 10 games before they squared off against North Mahaska on June 13. Sigourney led a majority of the game but couldn’t hold off the Lady Warhawks in a 6-9 loss. They responded by routing Moravia on June 14 but then took a tough loss to Lynnville-Sully on June 15. The bumpy ride concluded when Sigourney went 1-2 at a tournament on June 16 at Oskaloosa to move their record on the week to 2-4.

    Sigourney jumped out to an early two-run lead against North Mahaska after two innings of play while blanking the Lady Warhawks. The third and fourth innings reversed as Sigourney was held in check and North Mahaska tied the game up with two runs of their own.

Both teams found more consistent offense in the fifth inning as Sigourney put up three runs to give them some breathing room. That lead wouldn’t last long as the Lady Warhawks put together a big inning of their own, scoring seven runs and taking a four-run lead with two innings remaining. Sigourney went on to get one of those runs back in the top of the seventh, while locking down defensively to keep North Mahaska from bringing any more runners home. The rally in the seventh wasn’t enough as Sigourney went down fighting 6-9.

Lady Savage leaders: Autum Barthelman/Summer Barthelman/Madison Schauf/Megan Stuhr/Hannah Lucas – 1 hit, Megan Stuhr – 2 runs, Megan Stuhr/Hannah Lucas – 1 HR, Hannah Lucas – 3 RBIs, Summer Barthelman – 3 SB, Jordan VanEe – 1 K

The Lady Savages responded in a big way when they took to the road on June 14 to compete against Moravia. Through the first three innings they led Moravia 3-1 and continued to add on going forth. A big inning by Sigourney in which they plated six runs pushed them ahead even more and put more pressure on Moravia.

A majority of the damage came from the top half of the lineup for the Lady Savages, getting all but one of their runs driven in by four girls. Megan Stuhr and Madison Schauf led the way with a combined eight runs driven in as Stuhr went deep twice.

“At Moravia we readjusted the hitting lineup to shake things up,” Lady Savages coach Shelly Streigle said. “I feel like the girls really focused on adjusting to pitches and getting the job done.”

Sigourney padded their lead with three more insurance runs in the fifth and final inning as Moravia was able to only score a single run, ending the game with a score of 12-2. Jordan VanEe also bounced back on the mound after taking a tough loss to North Mahaska the night prior. She kept Moravia to six hits, walked none and struck out two batters.

Lady Savage leaders: Kaylee Weber – 3 hits, Autum Barthelman – 3 runs, Megan Stuhr – 2 HRs, Megan Stuhr – 5 RBIs, Autum Barthelman – 2 SB, Jordan VanEe – 2 Ks

Sigourney looked to get back on track with a second-straight win by hosting Lynnville-Sully on June 15. It was an up and down game which went into extra innings and eventually resulted in the Lady Savages coming up one run shy of getting their 14th win of the year.

Sigourney trailed by as much as two runs in the first half of the game, as they shut down Lynnville-Sully in the first couple innings and held a one-run lead. Lynnville-Sully would respond with three runs in the top of the third and another run in the fourth after Sigourney got one back in the bottom of the third to keep it a two-run cushion. Sigourney couldn’t get more than one run at a time until the bottom of the sixth, when they put together three needed runs to then tie the game at five.

“My team played better against LS than we did against North Mahaska,” Streigle said. “I think we were more ready and focused to play. It isn’t often that you have 12 hits and still lose.”

Neither team managed to score a run in the seventh, forcing the game into an eighth inning. Lynnville-Sully broke the tie in the top of the seventh with a single run and Sigourney was unable to match it as they ended up taking the 5-6 loss.

Lady Savage leaders: Summer Barthelman – 2 hits, Autum Barthelman/Summer Barthelman/Hannah Lucas/Leah Carter/Madi Richard – 1 run, Jordan VanEe – 2 RBIs, Autum Barthelman/Madison Schauf/Madi Richard – 1 SB, Jordan VanEe – 5 Ks

Week four ended with a tough slate of three games at a tournament in Oskaloosa on June 16. The Lady Savages competed against Oskaloosa, Wayne and Pella, losing the first two but closing out the week on a higher note.

After the two quality losses, the Lady Savages put together a 4-2 win over Pella in a defensive battle. After two innings of play the game was tied at two and Sigourney stymied Pella for all but two innings in which Pella scored one run in each. A three-run fifth inning was the difference for Sigourney and they held on to win by two.

“Saturday was a difficult day with opponents that made it challenging,” Streigle said. “Beating 4A Pella was a highlight of the day. Lily Schmidt had a game changing base hit which scored two runs. Losing a close one to Wayne was heartbreaking, but the girls bounced back in the heat.”

Lady Savage leaders: Leah Carter – 2 hits, Autum Barthelman/Summer Barthelman/Megan Stuhr/Hannah Lucas – 1 run, Megan Stuhr – 2 RBIs, Autum Barthelman/Summer Barthelman – 1 SB, Jordan VanEe – 3 Ks

The Lady Savages were back to conference play when they traveled to English Valleys on June 18 and then at Tri-County on June 20.