Cyclone Softball wins slugfest over Kuemper Catholic 15-10, rebounds from losses to Atlantic

HARLAN — The Harlan Community softball team bounced back from a difficult night against state-ranked Atlantic by defeating conference rival Kuemper Catholic 15-10 Tuesday at H. Jack Field.
The Cyclones entered the contest after being swept by Atlantic on Monday, falling 8-0 and 3-1, but quickly showed resilience against the Knights despite an early deficit.
HCHS handed the ball to left-hander Camryn Gos-horn, who ran into trouble early as Kuemper’s offense came out swinging. 
The Knights put runners on first and third with no outs after back-to-back hits to open the game.
That brought up Kuemper pitcher Charlotte Schwabe, who helped her own cause by launching a three-run home run over the left-field fence to give the Knights an early 3-0 advantage before the Cyclones recorded an out.
The next Knight reached on a walk, but the Cyclone defense responded.
After Lauren Gehling dropped a shallow fly ball into left field, Aubree Wegner made a strong throw to second base to cut down the trailing runner for the first out of the inning.
Kuemper added another hit, but Goshorn worked out of the jam as the Knights’ No. 9 hitter flew out to center fielder Kaitlynn Schmitz before leadoff hitter Chloe Gehling lifted a fly ball to Wegner in left for the final out.
The Cyclones answered in the bottom of the first.
Avery Manz started the rally with a single through the left side before Lauren Schmitz followed with a base hit to right. 
Taylor Heese popped out to second base and Brynn Schumacher flew out to right field. 
Suzy Kenkel then worked a walk to load the bases, bringing Wegner to the plate. 
The junior delivered with a single that scored Manz from third, cutting the Kuemper lead to 3-1.
Goshorn followed with a fly out to left field, ending the inning, but the Cyclones had their first run and some early momentum despite trailing after one inning.
Kuemper extended its lead in the second inning. After a leadoff single and a hit batter put two runners aboard, the Knights used a sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position. 
A base hit to center field plated another run before a two-run single by the Knights’ Addison Schon  pushed the advantage to 6-1.
Goshorn responded with a strikeout and a lineout to center field to prevent further damage and give the Cy-clones a chance to answer.
HCHS did exactly that in the bottom half of the inning.
Aubrie Arkfeld drew a leadoff walk before Kaitlynn Schmitz reached to put two runners on. 
Manz moved both runners into scoring position with a groundout, and Arkfeld later scored on a groundout to make it 6-2. 
Heese then reached when a ball to right field was dropped, allowing another run to score.
The Cyclones kept applying pressure. Schumacher blooped a single into the outfield before Kenkel ripped an RBI hit down the line to score Heese and trim the deficit to 6-4. 
HCHS continued to take advantage of Kuemper mis-cues, scoring another run on an error before a wild pitch tied the game at 6-6.
Wegner advanced to third on a throwing error, and Goshorn delivered the go-ahead run when she lined a ball to right field that was dropped, allowing Wegner to score and cap a six-run inning. 
By the time Arkfeld struck out to end the frame, the Cyclones had erased a five-run deficit and taken a 7-6 lead while batting around in the inning. 
Goshorn settled in, in the third inning, retiring the first batter on one pitch before working around a walk and a double. 
She struck out one hitter and induced a groundout to Schumacher at shortstop, stranding two runners and preserving the Cyclones one-run lead.
The Cyclone offense then erupted again in the bottom of the third.
After Kuemper made a pitching change and turned to Aubree Cardiel, Kaitlyn Schmitz drew a leadoff walk and Manz followed with a double down the line. 
Lauren Schmitz then came through with a two-run single through the right side to extend the lead to 9-6.
Heese moved the runner over with a groundout be-fore Schumacher ripped an RBI single past third base. 
Kenkel followed with an RBI double to left field, and Wegner added another run-scoring single up the mid-dle.
After Arkfeld drew her second walk of the game and stole second base, Kaitlyn Schmitz delivered a two-run double to cap a seven-run inning that stretched the Cyclone lead to 14-6.
Kuemper attempted to answer in the fourth. Schwabe led off with a double before Schon connected on a two-run home run to left field to cut the lead to 14-8.
The Knights continued to threaten, loading the bases with one out, but the Cyclone defense came through again. 
Manz threw out a runner at home plate for the second out, and Heese made a great defensive play at third base to keep the Knights from scoring again.
The Cyclones added another insurance run in the bottom of the fourth when Schumacher blasted her first varsity home run over the center-field fence, extending the lead to 15-8.
Schumacher finished the night 3-for-5 with two singles, a home run and two RBIs. 
After the game, the eighth-grader reflected on hitting the first varsity home run of her career.
“It feels great,” Schumacher said. 
“I’ve been having some troubles with my hitting, so to finally get one out is awesome.”
Schumacher admitted she wasn’t initially sure the ball had enough distance to clear the fence.
“I thought it was just really deep, but then I saw it hit the fence and I was like, ‘Yeah, it’s out,’” Schumacher said. “I was very happy.”
Kuemper added two runs in the fifth inning to trim the deficit to 15-10 and threatened again in the sixth. 
After loading the bases with two outs, Goshorn delivered one of the biggest pitches of the game, striking out Addison Schon to strand all three runners and preserve the five-run lead.
The Cyclones were unable to add to their lead in the bottom of the sixth, leaving the door open for the Knights entering the seventh.
However, Goshorn and the Cyclone defense shut the door. 
Heese recorded the first out on a fly ball, Carleigh Goshorn fielded a ground ball for the second out, and after a two-out single kept Kuemper alive, Manz settled under a pop-up to secure the final out and the 15-10 victory.
Cyclone head coach Nolan Heese praised his team’s resilience after overcoming an early six-run deficit.
“Resiliency is what I saw from the team tonight,” Heese said. 
“Kuemper put up six runs in the first two innings, and I thought about maybe pulling Cam, but our bats came alive and got us back into it with six in the bottom of the second. We knew going in this was going to be a high-scoring game because they put runs on us last year. They brought a different look with some slap hitters we haven’t really seen yet this season, along with some power.”
Heese was equally impressed with his team’s approach at the plate as Harlan piled up 15 runs.
“They all had good swings and were timing the ball up really well,” Heese said. 
“Kuemper used three different pitchers, and our girls were able to make adjustments right away instead of waiting until their second or third at-bat. They were confident, and I was confident that even when they got two strikes, they were going to put the ball in play.”
The Cyclones returned to the diamond Thursday night for a road contest at Iowa Western Community College against rival Lewis Central.