East Mills completes regular season sweep of Stanton

STANTON — The East Mills Wolverines softball team shutout the Stanton Viqueens 5-0 Friday night in Anderson Park, completing a regular season sweep.

East Mills scored all five of its runs in the third and fourth inning to ensure the victory via shutout.

“We haven’t had a shutout since I’ve been here,” East Mills softball coach Jeff Laughlin said.

The Wolverines jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the third inning thanks to a two RBI single by Zena Courtier, scoring Devin Laughlin and Elizabeth Walker.

Walker got on base with a one out double, while Laughlin got on base via a walk.

It was Laughlin who helped provide the next three runs, which came in the fourth inning. 

Laughlin hit a two-run triple into right field, scoring both Walker and Rachel Schafer.  The senior scored the fifth run for East Mills on a passed ball.

“Those were two key hits,” Laughlin said.

With ace Joni Laughlin on the mound, East Mills kept Stanton in check, allowing five hits and not allowing a run to cross home plate.

“She did a good job of keeping us off balance,” Stanton softball coach Arlin Top said.

Stanton had its first opportunity in the first inning when Carmen Subbert got on base through a one out single. Subbert moved to scoring position on a stolen base and moved over to third thanks to a groundout. However, Subbert was left stranded at third, denying Stanton a shot to take the lead.

“It seemed like if we hit the ball hard, we hit it right at them and they played really well defensively,” Top said.

In total, the Viqueens had five hits against Laughlin. Those hits came from Subbert, Macy Elwood, Logan Wagg, Erin Sorensen and Kylee Johnson. Sorensen and Druivenga also reached base via walk.

Laughlin was able to pitch high up in the strike zone, forcing Stanton’s batters to pop out 14 times.

“That’s a credit to the way she throws. She gets ahead and she throws that ball up in your eyes and it’s hard to stay off of it,” Top said. “If you do make contact with it, it seems like you pop it up.”

Coach Laughlin was happy with the defensive effort as they kept Stanton in check.

“Defensively, we probably should have had (three or) four more wins against conference teams if we field the ball well,” he said.

Johnson pitched for Stanton. The result for her went better than the first game against East Mills. Johnson pitched a complete game, giving up five runs on seven hits, striking out 10 East Mills batters.

The freshman had a rough outing in her first game June 2 against the Wolverines as she went 1 1/3 inning, giving up nine runs (one earned) on four hits. Stanton lost the game 14-6.

“That’s about as well as she can throw,” Top said. “For us, giving up five runs, that’s a lot better than the first time.”

Walker led the way for East Mills, who went 2-for-3 with a double, two runs and two stolen bases.

Devin Laughlin meanwhile was 1-for-3. Emmy Duysen was the only other East Mills player with multiple hits as she was 2-for-4. 

Courtier was 1-for-3, while Schafer went 1-for-4.

Both teams were back in action Monday. East Mills played Nishnabotna, while Stanton played Essex.