Cyclones bounce back from opening softball loss

 HARLAN -- It didn’t take long for Harlan Community to show some resiliency under first-year head softball coach Brooke Schaben.
 Just 24 hours after losing their season opener, 8-1, vs. Kuemper Catholic, the Cyclones bounced back against arguably a better opponent in Bishop Heelan and blanked the Crusaders, 8-0, at H. Jack Field Wednesday night.
 Freshman Hayley Hopkins (1-1) pitched a four-hit shutout in her second varsity start, decreasing her walk total from eight on Tuesday to just three while striking out one. She was also aided by much better defense as HCHS cut its error count from seven to two.
 Offensively, the Cyclones staked Hopkins to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first on back-to-back doubles by Julia Sorfonden and Steph Smith and took control by adding two runs each in the fifth and sixth innings. Sorfonden and Smith - batting fourth and fifth - both finished with two hits and three RBI while Lexi Larsen went 2-for-3 with one RBI and Logan Schaben was 1-for-2 with two walks and three runs scored.
 HCHS and Heelan both finished the night with 1-1 overall records.