Tigers’ bats help secure wins
RED OAK — The Red Oak Tigers softball team picked up a couple of wins last week, but none were bigger than their 9-8 win over the Clarinda Cardinals last Monday on Senior Night.
Maranda Gowdy had one of the biggest hits of her career when she smacked a single on a full count with no outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, with two runners on, scoring Maddie Holmgren from third base and giving the Tigers their first win of the week.
“It feels pretty good, I’ve always wanted to do that,” Gowdy said of the winning single.
Gowdy finished the game 3-for-4 with three singles and two runs batted in.
“I just wanted to hit the ball and get the run in so we can go home,” Gowdy said.
Holmgren started the inning battling a count with Clarinda pitcher Marissa Anderson.
Holmgren fought off a two strike count to hit a single and be the first runner on base with no outs.
“I just knew I needed to get on the base and I was going to do whatever it took to get on,” Holmgren said.
Angela Mahoney, the next batter up, also dealt with a two-strike count before she hit a grounder in the infield. However, Clarinda’s infielder threw to second base to try and get the Holmgren force out.
A bad throw led to Holmgren being safe at second and both runners being on base.
“We would have gotten it no matter what. We had confidence and we were rallying,” Holmgren said. “We were just pumped. We wanted the game.”
A wild pitch during Gowdy's at bat advanced both runners, which helped set up the game winning hit.
Red Oak battled back twice during the game. They trailed 4-1 after the first couple of innings, thanks to some RBI hits by Clarinda.
“We’re gonna make mistakes. We’re young. To dig ourselves a hole like that and to come out of it, it was pretty exciting,” Tigers Coach Nate Perrien said.
The Tigers got on board with the first run in the second inning when Holmgren hit a RBI groundout, scoring Makelti White.
“I was upset for three-fourths the game and pretty excited for the rest,” Perrien said.
White proved to be a big contributor later in the game when she hit a RBI single in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game 8-8. White finished the game 2-for-2 with two singles, two walks, two runs scored and three more runs driven in.
After Red Oak cut their deficit to 4-3, Clarinda tacked on more runs to stay ahead.
Red Oak had a few more opportunities, including a couple of near home runs that were called foul. One of those was courtesy of Lexie Holmgren, who hit it high and hooked it as it hit the equipment barn in left field.
The senior night honored Lexie Holmgren, Paige Stoaks and Gabi French. Stoaks was 3-for-4, scored three runs and was a home run shy of hitting for the cycle.
“Our bats have had to keep us in ball games and they have,” Perrien said.
Maddie Holmgren scored the win for Red Oak by allowing just four earned runs and striking out five batters.
Red Oak picked up additional wins Friday as part of the Abraham Lincoln Tournament in Council Bluffs. They defeated St. Albert (11-1) and Thomas Jefferson (11-3).
In the win against St. Albert, the game ended after five innings because of the 10-run rule. The Tigers scored all 11 of their runs in the first three innings and let Holmgren shut down the Saintes line up from there. Holmgren pitched all five innings, giving up one run on one hit and striking out seven.
Hankins was 2-for-3 at the plate with a run scored and another run driven in. Holmgren was also 2-for-3 with two runs batted in.
Against Thomas Jefferson, Red Oak scored the bulk of their runs early and never looked back. Stoaks led the way as she was 4-for-4 with a double and two runs scored. Lexie Holmgren was 1-for-3 with two runs scored and four more driven in, while French was 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored.
The Tigers lost both of their games Saturday at the Abraham Lincoln Tournament. They lost first to Abraham Lincoln, 6-1. They then lost to SC East 3-2.
Red Oak was also able to pick up a victory during its doubleheader with Kuemper Catholic in Carroll. The Tigers won the second game of a doubleheader 5-4 in nine innings. The win was big as the Tigers had come off of a 12-2 loss after five innings in the first game.
Last Tuesday, Red Oak lost 1-0 to the Glenwood Rams. The Tigers gave up a run during the first inning and Glenwood pitcher Molly Bryan was able to keep Red Oak from scoring.