Lady Jays win pair at Remsen tourney

(Sentinel photo by Bethany Kroeze) Gehlen's Kayla Hatting flips the ball to teammate Rachel Tilley at second base to force an out during the Lady Jays' win over K-P Saturday in Remsen. [Click to enlarge]

Gehlen Catholic and Remsen St. Mary's both posted 2-0 records at the Remsen softball tournament Saturday.

Gehlen 2, R-U 0

The Lady Jays started the day with a 2-0 win over Remsen-Union.

(Sentinel photo by Bethany Kroeze) Gehlen's Lexi Wilgen scoops up a grounder and looks to first to record an out during the Lady Jays' 2-0 win over Remsen-Union. [Click to enlarge]

Kayla Hatting's two-run homer - her eighth of the year - was the difference maker in the contest which was a close defensive battle.

Hatting's home run scored Steph Rohe, who led the Lady Jays' offense with a 2-for-3 plate performance in the contest.

Lexi Wiltgen also had a hit for Gehlen, which totaled four hits in the win.

Wiltgen collected the win in the circle, fanning seven in the process.

Jeana Pick, Gina Mae Frericks and Paige Wurth all registered hits for the Lady Rockets.

Kim Schroeder gave up two earned runs on four hits and two walks and fanned six in the loss.

"Our girls played a great game against Gehlen," R-U coach Heather Youde said. "We've been struggling defensively all week and this was a great defensive game. The girls played hard even though we weren't hitting ball real great."

RSM 7, K-P 5

A seventh-inning Kingsley-Pierson comeback fell short as the tournament host Remsen St. Mary's Hawks won a 7-5 decision Saturday morning.

Seven hits and five walks was all it took for RSM to tally seven runs in the win.

Starting pitcher Jennifer Feller helped herself at the plate with a 2-for-3 performance that included a double and an RBI.

Emma Krier ripped a double for the Hawks. The sophomore third baseman added an RBI and two runs in the win.

Kristin Loutsch also had a double for RSM while Sadie Lewis was 1-for-3 with two RBIs. Paige Harpenau was 1-for-3 and Miranda Staab drove in a run.

Feller went the distance, surrendering five runs - three earned - on six hits and fanning two in the win.

Taylor Green took the loss for K-P as she allowed seven runs - four earned - and struck out five. Onna Olson pitched the final inning, facing three batters as K-P dropped the 7-5 decision.

Jenn Henrich and Ashley Ruba each belted doubles in the loss. Henrich scored one run and drove in another while Ruba scored twice and registered one RBI.

Jane Jedrick - filling in for Dani Sudbeck in center field - singled, scored one run and drove in one for the Lady Panthers.

"She did excellent out there," K-P coach Pat Henrich said of the eighth grader.

River Valley 6, R-U 5

A seventh-inning rally came up just short for the Lady Rockets as they dropped a 6-5 decision to River Valley in their second contest of the tournament Saturday.

The bats were on fire as R-U tallied 13 hits in the loss.

Gina Mae Frericks was 4-for-4 with a triple and two RBIs to lead the squad.

Tasha Wurth, Kelsey Paskert and Allison Schreiner were each 2-for-4. Paskert's plate performance included a double and an RBI.

Schroeder gave up six runs - none earned - on eight hits and three walks. She fanned eight in the loss.

"Errors hurt us again," Youde said. "We had 13 hits but we couldn't get the girls in to score enough to win."

"We made some key errors at really bad times that allowed them to score."

R-U (4-17, 2-13) has just two games on the docket this week as league play wraps up. The Lady Rockets are on the road at Woodbury Central Monday and at Battle Creek-Ida Grove Thursday.

Gehlen 15, K-P 0 (3)

The Lady Jays scored five runs in the bottom of the first and added 10 more in the second as they shut down the Lady Panthers 15-0 Saturday afternoon in Remsen.

"We were able to try the sacrifice bunting and squeeze play things that we were trying to incorporate," Coach Hatting said. "The girls did very well. It was fun for them to see that they can use those things to score the runs when they need to."

Gehlen tallied just seven hits in the contest, but added RBIs from Wiltgen and Sarah Jentz.

Kayla Holtgrewe was 2-for-3 with a double and five RBIs while Bre Kraus was 2-for-2 with three RBIs.

Kayla Hatting was 1-for-1 with two RBIs and a sacrifice bunt. "That was the first time she's ever bunted," her mom and coach said.

Jessie Timmins and Rachel Tilley each registered a hit and Tilley added an RBI in the win.

"Any time that we can get at least seven hits in a game should be a pretty good game," Hatting said. "The girls that normally don't bunt laid down some bunts - it's a good opportunity for the girls to realize that that's what can happen."

Danielle Gunter got the win with three innings of shutout ball. She fanned one.

Jane Jedrick had the only hit for Kingsley-Pierson in the loss.

"The day overall was just a momentum booster for the team," Hatting said. "It was nice to play on a day that wasn't so hot and the girls got to enjoy playing a little ball and seeing teams we don't normally play. It was a nice change of pace."

Gehlen (17-10) hosts Unity Christian in War Eagle Conference action Monday while K-P hosts Maple Valley-Anthon-Oto in Western Valley Conference play.

RSM 10, River Valley 0

Feller tossed a three-hit shutout with seven K's as the Hawks shut down River Valley 10-0 in the final game of the tournament.

RSM's offense scattered 11 hits in the win.

Makenzie Ricke registered a 2-for-3 plate performance that included a triple, an RBI and two runs scored.

Feller was 2-for-4 with an RBI while Kelsey Trejo was 2-for-3 with an RBI and Miranda Staab was 2-for-3 with one RBI and one run scored.

Emma Krier, Mercedees Ricke and Sadie Lewis each tallied a hit for the Hawks while Krier added an RBI.

RSM returns to action Monday against Spalding Catholic.