March 28, 2024

Pitching leads Raiders to win over Tigerhawks

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COLFAX — The Class 1A No. 11 Colfax-Mingo softball team came into its nonconference game with 2A No. 3 Collins-Maxwell/Baxter hitting .344 as a team with 24 home runs. The Tigerhawks are averaging 7.4 runs per game and reaching base more than 40 percent of the time.

None of that mattered Tuesday as CMB’s two all-state pitchers shut down Colfax-Mingo on its homefield during a 3-0 win over the Tigerhawks.

CMB freshman Mikayla Houge allowed two hits and struck out seven in five innings to improve to 14-0 on the season, and senior Abbey Kahler fanned two in the final two innings to get her second save of the season.

The Raider duo kept the high-powered Tigerhawk offense off balance all night, and three early runs was enough to improve CMB’s record to 25-5.

“We kept them off balance, which is what we are trying to do,” CMB coach Troy Houge said. “They are pitching well, but the defense is playing well too. They strike out a lot of batters, but the defense makes play behind them when they don’t. We made a couple tough plays when we needed to.”

Mikayla Houge and Kahler halted the Tigerhawks’ six-game win streak by changing speeds and rarely missing their spots.

Colfax-Mingo got a two-out single from senior Amy Russell in the first inning and then sophomore Colbee Cunningham reached on a two-out infield single against Mikayla Houge in the fourth after she walked sophomore Mackensie Brown.

Brown drew another walk against Kahler to lead off the seventh, and sophomore Delaney Underwood walked against Mikayla Houge with two outs in the second.

That was all the offense the Tigerhawks could muster as they got past first base just once in the game.

“They pitched very well. Hitting is about adjustments. This was good pitching for us to see,” Colfax-Mingo Bryan Poulter said. “We didn’t make the adjustments and didn’t go to the element of attack like we needed to. It was good for us from the standpoint that we can’t expect to go up there and tee off all the time.

“The message has to be that this could be the type of pitcher we see late in the postseason, and you have to make adjustments. So, now, how do we make adjustments?”

The Tigerhawks (22-9) helped the Raiders with a pair of two-out errors in the first inning. Mikayla Houge reached base when Colfax-Mingo failed to catch a fly ball in the outfield.

Kahler then reached when her hard hit ball to second was misplayed. Houge’s courtesy runner, freshman Trinity Stover, scored on the error to make it 1-0.

“I am not disgruntled by this loss,” Poulter said. “We don’t ever want to lose, but the message is we can’t give away outs against good teams and we have to make adjustments at the plate.

“The early errors helped give them an advantage, but we still have to score runs to win.”

Freshman Holly Jessen singled to open the second inning and took second on a wild pitch. Her older sister, senior Heather Jessen singled to put runners on the corners with no outs.

After sophomore starter Colbee Cunningham got a strikeout, freshman Abby Husak laid down a suicide squeeze bunt to score Holly Jessen. The Tigerhawks got out of the jam with a double play as Heather Jessen was thrown out at the plate after junior Katie Camp failed to reach on a slap bunt.

In the third, Mikayla Houge led off with a double. Stover moved up to second after Kahler walked. With one out, sophomore Hannah Caple reached base on a suicide bunt single that scored Stover.

That made it 3-0, and that was enough for Mikayla Houge and Kahler, who have combined to strike out 263 batters this season.

“I just try to throw my stuff and stay calm,” said Mikayla Houge, who lowered her 1.11 earned run average with another shutout. “I have confidence that I can get any hitter out, I have confidence in his pitch calling and I know that my stuff works.

“Abbey did a nice job coming in. It’s great that we can rely on each other when the other one is struggling or if we just want to give them another look. She did a nice job of coming in and shutting them down late in the game.”

Both teams used both of their pitchers in the game. Both coaches said after the game it was the plan going into the night because each team is starting to prepare for what postseason games might bring to the table.

Mikayla Houge threw the first five innings for CMB. Kahler came into the face the top of Colfax-Mingo’s lineup in the sixth and produced a 1-2-3 inning.

“We may have to do this in the postseason, and we haven’t done that too much this year,” Coach Houge said about using both pitchers. “It was a good night to do that because this was a nonconference game.

“The only thing we didn’t know was when to make the change for sure. We decided we got through five and they had the top of the order coming up for a third time. The top of their order is tough, and we wanted to give them a different look.”

Poulter went with Cunningham first Tuesday after senior Amy Russell started the night before against Montezuma. He plans to flip flop the two hurlers again Wednesday against North Mahaska.

“We are trying to work this week on getting both Amy and Colbee time in games We are trying to adjust to postseason elements,” Poulter said. “We may have to make changes in postseason games, and we want to see how they start games and how they do when they come into the game in relief. We need them to be able to pitch in any situation.”

The Raiders won the game despite continuing to play without multiple starters. Senior center fielder Megan Ritter and junior shortstop Jordynn Wesselink are both gone this week at an annual mission’s trip.

CMB was missing two to three starters last week, too. The Raiders are 12-1 during that stretch with the only loss coming to 4A No. 1 Benton.

“It’s the next girl in mentality for us,” Coach Houge said. “We have been able to plug different girls in and still win. Heather played shortstop for the first time in a long time tonight. Abby Husak played center field and led off for us.

“Tonight, we did the little things. We didn’t need a lot of runs, but we were able to scratch out a few with some small ball stuff.”

Husak had one hit and was hit by a pitch for CMB, and Mikayla Houge had one hit and walked once. Heather Jessen went 2-for-3.

All six CMB hits came against Cunningham, who fell to 8-6 on the season. She allowed three runs — two earned — with three strikeouts and two walks in four innings.

Russell pitched the final three innings and did not allow a hit. She walked two, hit one and struck out five.

But the offense just couldn’t get going against CMB’s pitching duo.

“I think it’s been a few games since we have seen this kind of speed and this kind of control.,” Poulter said. “Good pitching will take you a long ways.”

CMB ends its regular season on the road against South Hamilton at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Jewell.

Colfax-Mingo plays North Mahaska at 6 p.m. Wednesday in New Sharon, travels to Moravia for a doubleheader Thursday and then finishes its regular season at home against 2A No. 9 Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont.