SPASH Softball Bounces Back
By Ken McKenzie
The SPASH girls’ softball team rebounded from Thursday’s 3-2 road loss at Merrill to defeat Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln 4-0 on Friday, pushing the team into second place.
Lady Panthers are now 4-1 in conference play with Wisconsin Rapids falling to 3-2.
SPASH scored one run in the first inning to get the early lead, added another run in the third and then got two insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth to pretty much seal the win.
‘Wisconsin Rapids played us really tough today,” said Coach Tom Drohner. “Our first time through the lineup (WRL pitcher Allison) Brost kept us off balance. Give Rapids credit, Allison kept us off balance; she’s a competitor out there and she has been for four years now. Frankly, I’ll be glad to see her graduate.”
Aubrey Drohner and Shaylee Kluck each had two hits and two rbi’s to lead the offensive effort with Drohner spacing six Rapids hits on the hill with a pair of strikeouts. Brost walked four and struck out a pair while yielding seven hits to SPASH batters.
Brittany Flugaur was safe on a mishandled grounder in the first, Drohner followed with a walk and Kluck was safe on an infield roller that couldn’t be handled cleanly as Flugaur scored the first run of the game. In the third it was Flugaur again getting things started, this time with a solid single up the middle. With one out, Kluck’s drive to center evaded the center fielder to score the second run with Kluck winding up on third.
In the sixth, Hannah Worzella singled with pinch runner Kelsey Godin advancing on successive come-backers to Brost. Flugaur walked with two outs and Drohner drove in the insurance runs on a double to center.
Both teams play again Saturday in Plover with SPASH playing DeForest and Hortonville on Fire Pro Field at 10 AM and noon with Wisconsin Rapids hosting the same teams in reverse order on Spud Field in the Woyak Park Complex. D.C. Everest (3-1) comes to town to face SPASH for the next WVC action on Tuesday at 4:30 PM, again at Fire Pro Field.