Arlington Eagles hit four home runs Monday during the Class C2 Subdistrict Softball Tournament at Hayes Field in Yutan.
Gracie Herman and Hailey Brenn's dingers helped AHS beat Tekamah-Herman 10-7 before Paige Kraemer's came during the second-seeded Eagles' 4-2 loss to No. 1 Yutan/Mead. The Patriots earned an automatic berth into the district final round, while coach Janelle Lorsch's team waited on the wild card standings to finalize.
“I haven't done any math just yet,” she said. “But we had a really good chance of qualifying for the district finals as long as there weren't too many crazy upsets anywhere else in Class C.”
The favorites prevailed and the No. 12-seeded Eagles will now play a three-game series 1 p.m. today at No. 5 Malcolm. A state tournament berth will be on the line.
On Monday, however, AHS started fast against Tekamah-Herman. With Brenn in the pitching circle, Arlington held the Tigers scoreless during the top half of the first inning before Herman gave her squad a 1-0 lead during the bottom half. The homer cleared two fences in left-centerfield — the official, although temporary short fence, and the permanent one much deeper.
Later, during the second frame with Julia Landauer on base, Brenn's home run swing put the Eagles ahead 3-0.
“The home runs were a huge spark for us,” Lorsch said. “They give us a lot of confidence and they really get the team going. The girls feed off of each other's energy, and a home run helps keep us in attack mode.”
Herman added another bomb as the game went on and the Eagles won by three runs. Kraemer and Hannah Stahlecker added RBIs, while Cadie Robinson had two hits.
Then, against Yutan/Mead, AHS fell behind 4-0. Kraemer hit her two-run homer during the seventh frame, but the Eagles still fell despite a 7-5 hits advantage.
Emery McIntosh had two of those Arlington hits, while Brenn struck out six Patriot batters in defeat.
Overall, Lorsch was proud of the postseason effort.
“We really did a nice job of maintaining our composure when the pressure was on,” she said. “We battled out of some tough defensive innings. Bad hops and errors are part of the game, but it is how we react to them that we can control. The girls did a great job of not letting one mistake become multiple.”
The coach knows her team is gritty and up for challenges.
“We know how to dig deep when the pressure is on, and we can play at such a high level of play when all of the pieces come together,” Lorsch said. “I'm just super proud of the fight they have in them day in and day out.”
The next test is the Clippers with a Hastings trip to fight for.
