Gehlen tallies 16-7 WEC win over Unity

Gehlen Catholic continued strong play in the War Eagle Conference with a 17-6 six-inning victory over Unity Christian Monday in Orange City.

The Lady Jays took little time to get the bats rolling as senior Kayla Hatting belted a two-run home run in the top of the first, scoring Sarah Jentz and herself.

Unity notched one run in the bottom of the first and after a silent second inning, Gehlen's bats went wild in the third.

With one out, Lexi Wiltgen singled and advanced to second on a passed ball. Kayla Holtgrewe walked and one out later, Rachel Tilley ripped a homer to score Wiltgen and Holtgrewe.

Gehlen led 5-1.

Amber Timmins and Jentz each singled as the inning continued. Danielle Gunter walked to load the bases and then Hatting belted her second home run of the day, emptying the bases as the Lady Jays took a 9-1 lead.

Gehlen added one more in the fourth to lead 10-1 before the Knights scored two in the bottom of the inning.

The Lady Jays added two in the fifth and five in the sixth before Unity's last effort - three runs in the bottom of the sixth - ended two runs short of forcing the final inning and Gehlen collected the 17-6 victory in six.

"We definitely got the bats going," Gehlen coach Patty Hatting said. "It's nice to get that confidence for the girls to be able to hit the ball."

"The other nice thing is that all of our subs got a chance to play in the varsity game," she continued. "We had them running and some of them going to the field."

Kayla Hatting led the Lady Jays' offense with a 4-for-5 plate performance that included two home runs, one double and nine RBIs.

Tilley was 1-for-4 with her home run and three RBIs while Holtgrewe was 3-for-4 at the plate with two RBIs.

Jessie Timmins had an RBI double while her sister Amber was 2-for-3 on the night.

Wiltgen, Gunter and Jentz were each 1-for-2 at the plate.

On the mound, Gunter gave up six runs - four earned - on six hits. The senior fanned six in the win.

Gehlen improves to 8-4 on the season with a 5-1 WEC mark and will play at Remsen St. Mary's on Wednesday.