March 28, 2024

Colfax-Mingo softball ends season with loss to Pella Christian

PELLA — For two innings, Colfax-Mingo’s softball team was playing right with host Pella Christian.

Unfortunately, the Tigerhawks’ defense was not up to a winning level and the Eagles took full advantage during a 10-0 win in the Class 2A Region 4 semifinals on Friday.

The contest was moved up to a 4:30 p.m. start to beat the forecasted rain. Pella Christian ended the game by mercy rule with one out in the sixth inning.

“You don’t ever want the season to end, but we especially didn’t want it to end like that.” C-M softball coach Bryan Poulter said. “I thought early in the game we were seeing the ball and their pitcher wasn’t in a real good rhythm. If we could have scored a few in the first couple of innings, maybe the game changes a bit.

“We just didn’t find the clutch hit.”

Aside from committing five errors, the Tigerhawks also managed only six hits. They only went down in order once but struggled with runners on base.

Holland Robinette was a bright spot for the Tigerhawks (17-13). She hit a lead-off double in the second and had a lead-off single in the fourth. Her only out was a hard-hit ball to center field.

“That was great to see. She had been in a slide lately,” Poulter said. “She had a much better final week of the season and today she looked confident up there. Even her out was a hard-hit ball.”

Robinette led off the second with a double and went to third on a single by Joslyn Chadwick. Unfortunately, Chadwick was thrown out trying to get in a run down with a teammate standing on third base.

Brennan Rhone also walked with two outs in the frame but both her and Robinette were stranded.

“Once you see the ball is back to the pitcher, the delay is off,” Poulter said about Chadwick getting thrown out at second. “She should have just kept running hard to second or gotten back to first. That’s another example of something we weren’t sharp with today.”

Colfax-Mingo wasn’t sharp in the field. The Tigerhawks committed three errors in the third to open the door for Pella Christian (16-18), which scored three runs in the third, fourth and sixth innings and had one in the fifth.

The five errors were committed in the third, fourth and fifth innings.

“They announced after the game that we only had two errors. But there were more than that, and we had plays that we should have made and those piled up,” Poulter said. “We just didn’t make enough plays in the field. You aren’t going to get to away with that against good teams. We left the door open and they went through it.”

The error in the fourth came with two outs and all three runs came after the miscue. The error in the fifth made it easier for PC to score its one run in that frame.

The Tigerhawks put one runner on base in the first, third and fourth innings. Carley Underwood opened the game with a hit by pitch, Kylie Doty laced a two-out double in the third and Robinette led off the fourth with a single. But all three runners were stranded.

In the fifth, Charlotte Donahue singled but was retired on the bases when Underwood grounded into a fielder’s choice. Abi Rawlins followed with a one-out single, but back-to-back fly balls to the outfield ended the threat.

“It just seemed things went their way more than it went our way. They were able to find holes and gaps in our defense and a lot of our contact was right at them,” Poulter said. “That sounds like sour grapes. But it’s just part of the game you can’t prepare for. Sometimes it’s on your side and sometimes it’s not.”

Doty was the losing pitcher. She allowed 10 runs — five earned — on 12 hits with three strikeouts and one walk.

Natalie Harrill and Emri Agre combined for six of the Eagles’ 12 hits. Harrill had four RBIs and Agre scored three runs. Bailey Roose also was plated three times.

Dunsbergen was the winning pitcher, allowing no earned runs on six hits with no strikeouts, one walk and one hit batter.

Colfax-Mingo loses just one senior starter — Rhone — from this year’s squad.

“I do feel good about this team moving forward, but we still have to grow, improve our offense, improve our defense and improve our pitching,” Poulter said. “If they are not content with staying where we are at, I think some really good things can happen next year. If they are content, we’ll look like the same team.”