By William / www.mcpherson-county-ks.com
BENNINGTON – On Friday, the Canton/Galva softball team went on the road to Bennington and came home with a split of a doubleheader, losing game one 17-7 before bouncing back and scoring an 11-2 win in the second game.
The split gives the Lady Eagles an 8-2 season mark as they prep to play Ell-Saline on Tuesday.
In game one, after the Lady Eagles took an early 6-0 lead in the top of the second, Bennington dinged up the Canton/Galva pitching for 14 runs in their next two at bats and rolled to the final 17-7 win.
Gracie Kidd and Jordan Friesen worked the mound for the Lady Eagles and despite the gaudy numbers they gave up, they did get seven strikeouts and walked 10.
Brecken Pearson had three hits for the Lady Eagles while Kidd, and Nicole Miller each had a pair with both of Kidd’s hits being for doubles as she recorded three runs batted in. Pearson and Taygen O’Hara also hit doubles with Nicole Miller pounding out a triple.
In the second game, Canton/Galva scored three times in the top of the first and two in the second to take an early 5-1 lead before Bennington scored three times in the third to pull back within one at 5-4. Canton/Galva put two more runs on the board in the fifth and another four in the sixth to get the final 11-4 victory.
Jordan Friesen pitched a complete seven innings for the Lady Eagles, walking just one and striking out a dozen.
Brecken Pearson went 4-for-4 with one hit being a double while stealing three and scoring twice to lead the Canton/Galva offense.
Julia Allen had a pair of hits and recorded three runs batted in due to hammering out a home run. Taygen O’Hara had a double, while Cora Schamp and Friesen also stole three bases. The Lady Eagles ran wild on the base paths, stealing 15 total bases in the game.
CANTON/GALVA LADY EAGLES at Bennington
GAME 1:
LADY EAGLES 1-5-1-0-0-0-X=7-11-2
Bennington 0-8-6-0-1-2-X=17-14-2
LADY EAGLES PITCHING (IP-H-R-ER-SO-BB): Gracie Kidd 2.2-4-3-3-1-5; Jordan Friesen 3.0-10-14-13-6-5. Team Totals: 5.2-14-17-16-7-10.
LADY EAGLES HITTING (AB-R-H-RBI-BB): Brecken Pearson 4-2-3-2-0; Julia Allen 3-1-0-0-1; Gracie Kidd 3-1-2-3-1; Jordan Friesen 2-1-1-0-2; Taygen O’Hara 3-0-1-2-1; Cora Schamp 4-0-1-0-0; Brooke Stephan 3-1-1-0-0; Nicole Miller 3-1-2-0-0; Emma Herrera 3-0-0-0-0. Team Totals: 28-7-11-7-5. 2B (4): Kidd – 2; O’Hara, Pearson – 1. 3B (1): Nicole Miller – 1. SB (7): Friesen – 3; Pearson – 2; Kidd, Allen – 1.
GAME 2:
LADY EAGLES 3-2-0-0-2-4-0=11-12-0
Bennington 1-0-3-0-0-0-0=4-9-0
LADY EAGLES PITCHING (IP-H-R-ER-SO-BB): Jordan Friesen 7.0-9-4-4-12-1.
LADY EAGLES HITTING (AB-R-H-RBI-BB): Brecken Pearson 4-2-4-0-0; Cora Schamp 2-2-0-0-2; Gracie Kidd 5-0-1-3-0; Jordan Friesen 2-3-1-0-2; Taygen O’Hara 4-1-1-2-0; Julia Allen 4-1-2-3-0; Kamryn Feltman 1-0-0-0-0; Brooke Stephan 1-0-1-1-1; Nicole Miller 3-1-1-0-0; Reagan Hawkinson 3-0-0-0-0; Emma Herrera 1-1-1-0-0; Kenidy Nichols 0-0-0-0-1. Team Totals: 30-11-12-9-6. 2B (1): Pearson – 1. 3B (1): O’Hara – 1. HR (1): Allen. SB (15): Schamp, Pearson, Friesen – 3; Stephan, Allen – 2; Herrera, Nichols – 1.
(William is a free-lance writer covering McPherson County Activities – he can be reached at crossdovewriter@gmail.com)