The Arlington and Fort Calhoun High School softball teams arrived in Scribner on Saturday morning for the Nebraska Capitol Conference (NCC) Tournament.
The Eagles and Pioneers later left with third- and fourth-place finishes, respectively. Coach Janelle Lorsch's AHS squad went 2-1, while coach Mandy Taylor's lineup went 1-2 with a 6-1 loss to their Washington County neighbors in the third-place game.
Two days earlier, though, the teams met on the Pioneers' diamond for a regular season matchup.
Calhoun bests AHS, 10-4
Kaitlyn Welchert hit a pair of home runs Thursday as Fort Calhoun earned a 10-4 victory against Arlington. The shortstop's first came during the very first inning.
“Warmups really are a big part of the game,” she explained.
The three-run swat off of Eagles pitcher Kiersten Taylor scored Kaylee Taylor, Anna Taylor and the slugger herself for an early 3-0 advantage.
“This is one of our top rival schools, so coming out strong with a good hit is a big part of the game,” Welchert said.
AHS' Cadie Robinson and Hannah Stahlecker pulled their team even, 3-3, with back-to-back at-bats in the third, but Welchert answered with another dinger. The go-ahead, two-run homer came during the bottom of the fifth inning with Kaylee Taylor on base again.
Winning FCHS pitcher Anna Taylor would hold the lead from there, though Robinson did hit a sixth-inning solo homer over the left field fence to pull the Eagles within 5-4.
“I didn't even see it come off the bat, so it was kind of luck,” the Eagle said.
The standout senior catcher had hoped her swing would turn momentum in Arlington's favor.
“Usually, one play leads to a lot of plays,” Robinson said. “So, I was hoping we could get something stringing along, but it didn't end up that way.”
Anna Taylor struck out two of the next three Eagles before Fort Calhoun put the game away with a five-run bottom of the sixth inning. Welchert drew a bases-loaded walk to push across her sixth run of the game before Sam Brewer, Lucie Larsen and Addie Benoit notched RBI swings.
Welchert believed the win would help her squad in its NCC Tournament stint.
“Coming off of a big win is really going to boost our confidence,” she said. “Excited to play this weekend.”
Arlington, meanwhile, hoped to rebound in Scribner after its fourth-straight loss.
“We've just got to find the fire within us and see if we can bring it out,” Robinson said.
County teams compete at NCCs
Both AHS and FCHS started the NCC Tournament 1-1 Saturday, setting up a third-place game rematch between the Washington County foes.
Pitcher Rylee Fuehrer held the Pioneers to a single run in Scribner as the Eagles gained a measure of revenge, 6-1.
Kiersten and Bailey Taylor gave coach Lorsch's squad an early 2-0 lead with first-inning RBIs. Robinson's RBI double during the third pushed that advantage to three runs.
Fort Calhoun then tallied its lone run in the fourth. Welchert hit a one-out single before scoring when Sammie Ladwig hit into an error.
The Eagles responded, though, when Robinson cleared the bases on a three-RBI triple. It all but sealed the win after Arlington split its first two NCC games against Logan View/Scribner-Snyder and Ashland-Greenwood.
First, AHS topped Logan View 8-2. Kiersten Taylor hit a first inning homer and finished with three RBIs overall.
The Eagles then dropped a 9-4 game to the Bluejays. Stahlecker hit a two-run homer, but it wasn't enough to reach the conference tournament finals.
Fort Calhoun, meanwhile, opened play Saturday in Scribner with a 9-3 victory against Douglas County West. The Pioneers trailed 3-0 after one inning, but a fifth-inning Brewer swing pushed across the go-ahead run. Welchert finished the game with three RBIs as well.
FCHS was then, however, forced into the third-place game with a 10-1 loss to Class C No. 1 Yutan/Mead — the eventual tournament champs. Coach Taylor's squad scored its lone run on Welchert's third homer of the extended weekend and fifth overall this season.
Both the Pioneers and Eagles wrap up their regular seasons this week.
