Big bats lead Clarinda to winning record, highlighting area softball season
The Clarinda Cardinals finished with a winning record, leading area softball teams this summer.
The Cardinals won 18 games, finishing just above .500 for the season and in Hawkeye 10 Conference play.
This is the second of two summer sports recap stories being published this month. The baseball recap was published last week, and baseball and softball are combined in the Summer Sports All-Area Team, which will be released next week, followed by stories on the summer season’s top male and female athlete.
While Clarinda won 18 games and enjoyed some success, there weren’t many wins from the other three area schools with Shenandoah winning six games, Sidney four and Essex one.
Clarinda junior Hadley Miller watches a soft line drive that she'll range over to catch at her shortstop position Thursday, July 9, during a home win over Shenandoah.
Clarinda had two different four-game winning streaks on the season but lost four straight late in the year. The Cardinals did earn one postseason win before falling in a regional semifinal as one of the final 32 teams in Class 3A.
Clarinda’s big three on offense were as good as anyone’s in senior Annika Price, junior Janessa Woolsey and freshman Rylee Maher. Those three combined for 148 hits, including 28 doubles, five triples and eight home runs, 108 runs scored and 131 RBIs.
Clarinda senior Maddie Cole makes a catch on a fly ball Tuesday, June 16, during a home loss to Atlantic.
The rest of the lineup had their share of moments as well with Hannah Worl hitting four home runs, Maddie Cole leading the team with four triples and Stevie Wilmes stealing 21 bases, one of five Cardinals, led by Maher’s 38, to steal double digit bases this season. Hadley Miller, Cole and Ellery Bird were the other three.
Makenzie Kane stepped up as the team’s No. 1 pitcher with Grace Fidler and Audrey Gray also seeing time in the circle.
Seniors Cole and Price exit the program.
Shenandoah won three of four games in early June to improve its record to 4-5 but won just two games after that, which included an 11-game losing streak, mostly in Hawkeye 10 Conference play. They played some good teams close but just weren’t consistent enough.
Shenandoah junior Ali Hansen delivers a pitch Tuesday, June 2, during a home win over Red Oak. Hansen pitched a four-inning, two-hit complete game shutout in the win.
Ali Hansen stepped into the top pitching spot and struck out 47 over 113 1/3 innings. Braelynn Kirby stepped up late to add support in the circle.
This was a young Shenandoah team with sophomore Lyndie Green and freshman Bella Trowbridge leading the team, combining for 51 hits, including 13 doubles and one home run, with 20 runs and 32 RBIs.
Shenandoah senior Abbey Dumler looks in at the next pitch from her defensive position at shortstop Tuesday, June 2, during the Fillies' home win over Red Oak.
The Fillies had three seniors who were big parts of the lineup and played up the middle defensively with Abbey Dumler at short, Jaylan Gray at second and Chloe Nelson in center field.
A big group of freshmen and sophomores showed that they can be counted on as the program progresses. It’s a program that will have new leadership next season, though, as Cayley McCoy resigned shortly after the season after two years leading the program.
She exits, along with Nelson, Gray and Dumler.
Aaron Lang had a new co-head coach in Stephen Thatcher working with him in leading Sidney.
The Cowgirls had a six-day stretch in mid to late June that saw them win three of four games, beating Essex twice and Southwest Valley. After that, though, the Cowgirls lost seven straight.
Eighth grader Avary Gamber was easily Sidney’s leader in hits with 22, hitting .431 while getting on base every other time she came to the plate. Senior Bridget Kromminga had a good season and a great finish to the year, driving in a team-best 17 runs and scoring 16.
Gamber was also Sidney’s top pitcher, striking out 44 in 60 2/3 innings.
Sidney sophomore Alyssa Dowling makes a throw from her position at third base Monday, June 8, during a road win over Stanton.
There were several other Cowgirls who gave quite a bit to this team, many of them with multiple years left in the program. Freshman Katie Glenn led the team in runs scored with junior Ashlyn Hayes, sophomore Charli King and eighth grader Elizabeth Boyd also scoring double digit runs.
Sidney eighth grader Emma Eighmy scores in the second inning Monday, June 8, during a win over Stanton. The run came after a double, one of her three hits on the evening in the 13-6 win.
Eighth grader Emma Eighmy and senior McKenzie Thatcher tied for third on the team in RBIs, behind Kromminga and Gamber.
Seniors Thatcher and Kromminga exit the program.
Essex had a first-year head coach this year in Sami York and the Trojanettes won their first game of the season, scoring 20 runs in a run-rule win over Red Oak. But they didn’t win again. They were only close one other time, a 16-15 loss to East Mills in game three.
Essex junior Ella Sandahl pitches the ball Tuesday, June 23, during the Trojanettes' home loss to Sidney. Sandahl pitched all seven innings in the game.
Ella Sandahl did most of the pitching for the Trojanettes, striking out 35 over 74 1/3 innings.
Sophomore Paityn Vanatta led the bats with a .360 average, 18 hits, including four doubles and three home runs, 18 runs and nine RBIs, all team-high totals.
Essex senior Kylie Valdez throws the ball back to the infield Tuesday, June 23, during a Senior Night loss to Sidney.
Senior Kylie Valdez and freshman Piper Maher scored double-digit runs for Essex. Valdez, Maher, Sandahl and Aila Valdez joined Vanatta with double-digit hits.
Seniors Kylie Valdez and Mariska Kirchert exit the program.
The Summer Sports All-Area team is released next week with 10 of the above players featured, along with 10 baseball players. The top softball athlete will be crowned as the Summer Sports Female Athlete of the Year next month.
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Clarinda softball advances to Round 2, beating Shenandoah
