Waterville-Elysian-Morristown Softball

Jacob Swanson – Faribault Daily News

Fans came into Waterville-Elysian-Morristown and Bethlehem Academy’s Section 1A West matchup expecting a good game and they were not disappointed.

The teams battled back and forth throughout the seven innings, with W-E-M claiming the 5-3 win.

The Cardinals struck first, taking lead on a run by Tess Glenzinski in the first.

Malia Hunt scored in the third to make it 2-2, but the Buccaneers tied things up in the bottom of the inning with runs by Autumn Taylor and Lindsay Condon, who pinch ran for Maddy Meskan.

The score stayed tied until the fifth, when Nicole Nuetzman singled home pinch runner Addyson Taylor.

With three two-out hits by Brielle Bartelt, Autumn Taylor and Hailie Tegmeier in the sixth, the Buccaneers made the lead 5-2 heading into the top of the seventh.

BA made it interesting, as Kate Trump blasted a double to the wall to bring the tying run to second with one out in the seventh, but W-E-M pitcher Trista Hering got a strikeout and a ground out to end the contest.

“They’re a very good team,” BA coach Maren Viland said of the Buccaneers. “Overall, I thought we played really well. Obviously I’m disappointed we didn’t come out on top, but like I’ve always said, a game can go either way.”

Hering went all seven innings, allowing only one earned run while striking out six.

“Trista kept them off balance enough,” W-E-M coach Crystal Lamont said. “She wasn’t as sharp as she has been lately, but pitching back-to-back games you kind of expect that.”

The Buccaneers had 10 hits, and even when they weren’t getting hits, they made a lot of solid contact.

“Right away in the first inning I thought we made good contact,” Lamont said. “Even though we didn’t get anyone on, you could just tell that they were going to time her and we were going to score runs, so that part I wasn’t too worried about. We had some key hits with two outs and the girls kept battling.”

W-E-M faces Hayfield on Thursday in Austin. The teams didn’t play each other this season, but Lamont expects a tough game.

“We got scheduled about three times and never got it in with them,” Lamont said. “They made it to the state tournament last year and have been there multiple times, so we know they’re going to be a big challenge for us.”

If the Buccaneers want to beat Hayfield, they’ll need to improve defensively, as they had some issues with errors Tuesday.

“We weren’t crisp defensively. We need to pick that up to have a chance on Thursday,” Lamont said. “We just need to play better defense, Trista needs to get sharp again and clean things up to keep their hitters off balance. We’ll just come out and play it one pitch and hit at a time and see what happens.”

The Cardinals will face Blooming Prairie on Thursday in Austin. Blooming Prairie beat the Cardinals 6-5 when the teams met on May 14.

Waterville-Elysian-Morristown 5, Bethlehem Academy 3

WEM – 0 0 2 0 1 2 X

BA – 1 0 1 0 0 0 1

WEM Hitting – Nuetzman 2-3, 2 RBI; Bartelt 1-4, R, SB; Tegmeier 2-3, 2 RBI, R, 2 2B, HBP; Autumn Taylor 1-3, 2 R, 2B; Hering 1-3, 2B; Meskan 1-4, RBI; Megan Adank 1-2, HBP; Allison Rients 1-2; Condon 0-0, R

WEM Pitching – Hering 7IP-10H-3R-1ER-3BB-6SO

BA Hitting – Glenzinski 1-2, R, 2 BB; Hunt 1-4, R; Jessica Oathoudt 1-3, BB; Grace Ashley 3-4, RBI; Kate Trump 1-4, 2B, SB; Grace Viland 1-4, R; Maggie Viland 1-4; Nicole Menard 1-3

BA Pitching – Glenzinski 6IP-10H-5R-5ER-1BB-4SO