Regional Softball: Spartans ousted by No. 4 Mustangs

 FONDA (July 12) -- Seven errors proved extremely costly for Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton last Friday night as the Spartans lost an 8-1 decision in a Class 1A, Region 2 softball semifinal at 4th-ranked Newell-Fonda.
 Exira-EHK, which totaled just one less hit (7-6) than the Mustangs, finished 13-15 overall without a senior on the roster. Newell-Fonda (36-5) went on to beat Ridge View 6-4 in Monday’s regional final to advance to state.
 Spartan head coach Ashton Koehlmoos said that the game came down to execution. Exira-EHK simply made too many defensive mistakes behind pitcher Macy Emgarten and stranded too many runners in scoring position. In one inning, the Spartans had the bases loaded with nobody out and didn’t score, according to Koehlmoos.
 “We knew going into the game that we would have to play our cleanest game in order to come out on top,” she said. “I was very happy with how much we hit the ball and how well our contact was, but we couldn’t get the timely hit to push runners across. Macy pitched a game well enough to keep us in it, but against a No. 4 team we can’t have seven errors in the field."
 Shay Burmeister, a Spartan eighth-grader, finished 2-for-4 while freshman Ashley Hansen went 3-for-4 with a double. Sophomore Tatum Grubbs also doubled to round out the team’s six-hit attack.
 Emgarten (12-14) allowed just two earned runs on seven hits in six innings, walking none and striking out five.

Exira-EHK 7, Riverside 3

 OAKLAND -- Exira-EHK built a 7-0 lead in the fourth inning and held off Riverside 7-3 in a 1A regional quarterfinal softball game July 10.
 Macy Emgarten struck out 12 Bulldogs in a seven-inning complete game effort, allowing three hits and just one earned run while walking two batters.
 A four-run third inning opened up a 5-0 lead for the Spartans, who totaled seven hits and nine stolen bases.
 Tatum Grubbs was 3-for-4 at the plate, Kami Waymire and Mollie Rasmussen both doubled and drove in two runs and Shay Burmeister was 1-for-2 with two walks, three steals and three runs scored. Alisa Partridge added a single, scored twice and also had three steals.

 
 

 

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