The Crofton Lady Warriors 12 and Under softball team played two league games on the road during the week of May 28.
The team’s week began with a league contest in Wakefield on Tuesday, May 30. The team played to a 15-9 win.
Wakefield’s pitching certainly helped the Warriors, who were walked 11 times and hit by a pitch five more times.
This paved the way for some timely hits and aggressive baserunning.
Leading the way for the Lady Warriors were Camry Michael and Maci Kolterman who each got a hit. Michael’s double drove in a run. Lauren Connot also had an RBI.
Michael, Ella LaCroix, Briell McCoy, and Claire Marsh each scored two runs. Kolterman, Grace Morrison, Avery Arens, Jayden Tramp, Maddie Nelson, and Lauren Connot each scored a run.
Lauren Connot pitched two innings for Crofton.
On Thursday, June 1, the Lady Warriors ventured to Verdigre for their second road trip of the week.
This time the team had a little more enthusiasm and intensity, defeating the Verdigre Stingers 16-4.
Offensively, the Lady Warriors jumped out to a 5-1 lead after the first and built the lead to 10-1 after the top of the second.
After a scoreless bottom of the second, the Lady Warriors scored six in the top of the third.
Despite allowing three runs in the bottom of the third, they were able to get their final out.
The first three Crofton hitters (Morrison, Arens, and Michael) scored each of their at-bats. LaCroix and McCoy each scored twice.
Kolterman, Connot, and Berkley Hames each scored a run.
Bella Hetzell was hit by a pitch and got on base.
Lady Warriers 12U goes 2-3 at Northeast Nebraska Invite
Northeast Nebraska Invite
The Crofton Lady Warriors 12 and u softball team competed at the Northeast Nebraska Invitational Softball Tournament on Friday, June 2 through Sunday, June 4 in Norfolk at Ta-Ha-Zouka Park.
The Lady Warriors started the tournament losing their first two games but rebounded and got stronger as the tournament progressed to championship play.
They went 2-1 in the remaining three games.
In their first game against Nebraska Venom (Bennington), the tournament’s eventual champion, the Lady Warriors lost 19-3.
The Warriors took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning as Camry Michael got on board with a 2-out single.
Ella LaCroix (hit by pitch), Hadley Becker (walk), and Brielle McCoy (hit by pitch) subsequently got on base to load the bases and get Michael home.
However, the Venom added eight runs before the Warriors found a way to get out of the inning.
Down 8-1, the Warriors did not give up. In fact, they put a lot of pressure on their counterparts, loading the bases and scoring two runs.
This included a run by Avery Arens and Jayden Tramp. Ava Pautler, Grace Morrison, and Lauren Connot also reached base during the inning.
Unfortunately, the Venom answered back with 11 runs of their own, taking a 19-3 lead.
The Warriors were then retired quietly, sending just three hitters to the plate in game’s final frame due to the run rule
Becker had a hard-hit ball that was caught during the inning.
Despite the loss, the Warriors bounced back well in their second game against Titan Nation (Genoa) but still lost 8-6.
Overcoming the bottom of the second inning was the big challenge for the Warriors.
The game began with the Warriors scoring the game’s opening four runs. In fact, the Warriors’ first four hitters of the game scored including Lauren Connot (courtesy running for Grace Morrison), Avery Arens, Camry Michael, and Ella LaCroix scored.
At this point, the bases were still loaded with no outs when Brielle McCoy was thrown out at the plate on a wild pitch. Then Jayden Tramp was caught in a pickle for out number two.
Titan Nation got out of the inning with runners on second and third.
The Warriors got out of the bottom of the first, escaping a bases-loaded jam and allowing just one run.
Titan Nation held the Warriors scoreless in the top of the first before scoring seven runs in the bottom of the second.
After getting the first two outs of the inning almost right away, the Warriors struggled to get anyone out after that, allowing six consecutive runs.
By the time the Warriors got to hit in the top of the third, they were down 8-4 and had only five minutes remaining in the game.
Despite the deficit Arens and Laroix both scored their second runs of the game before the time ran out.
Game three saw the Lady Warriors turn their fortune for the better as they beat Tractorhouse NT 9-6.
The game started with a 1-2-3 inning where Lady Warriors pitcher Lauren Connot struck out the first two batters of the game, and then Morrison connected with Michael to put out the NT baserunner at second base.
In the bottom half of the inning, six of Crofton’s first eight hitters scored. Morrison, Michal, LaCroix, McCoy, Connot, and Hames all reached base safely and scored.
Michael and McCoy each single; however, McCoy’s hit turned into a run as NT threw the ball around.
Connot then continued pitching well into the second inning, allowing a walk to the lead-off and number two hitters and then proceeding to get the next two hitters and the baserunner out.
After Marsh led-off the inning with a walk, the Lady Warriors couldn’t get much going; however, the top of the third was the toughest inning of the game for Crofton.
The first five hitters of the inning reach base safely, three of which came around to score. Consequently, they had to battle to control the damage, which they did, retiring three of the next four hitters.
With a 6-3 lead headed into the bottom of the inning, the Lady Warriors answered with three runs of their own.
Tramp, Michael, and LaCroix each scored a run in the inning to build the lead to 9-3. This proved valuable as NT scored three runs of their own in the top of the fourth before the game’s allotted time ran out and the game was over.
This concluded pool play, and Sunday’s championship bracket play started with the Lady Warriors matching up with Osmond, a league opponent.
After allowing runs to the game’s first three hitters, Cofton’s pitcher Lauren Connot and her supporting cast shut down the Tigers, giving up no more runs.
The Lady Warriors boasted 11 runs in the bottom of the first and two in the bottom of the second to develop a 13-3 lead.
McCoy, Michael, LaCroix, Tramp, and Kolterman each had two runs. Morrison, Connot, and Sejnoha each added a run.
Lacroix doubled deep to the gap in left, which ordinarily would have been an easy triple and possibly an inside-the-park home run, but she was held at second base.
Moving on to the next round the Lady Warriors took on the Arlington Shockwave, the opposite pool’s top seed.
The Lady Warriors held the lead throughout the much of game until the Shockwave ended the game on a walk-off bases loaded walk.
Hadley Becker (courtesy running for Morrison) and Michael each scored runs in the top of the first.
McCoy nearly added a third run but was caught stealing home.
The first three Shockwave runners came around to scored in the bottom half of the first.
The Lady Warriors offense continued to roll as they added four runs in the top of the second. Morrison, McCoy, Michael, and LaCroix each scored.
Morrison had a single through the infield while LaCroix had an RBI.
Conversely, the Shockwave scored two runs in the bottom of the second.
The Lady Warriors threatened in the top of the third, loading the bases. But, the Shockwave scored two runs to end the game.