The Atlantic Trojan Softball team completed a doubleheader sweep of the Harlan Cyclones on Monday night. In game one, the offense took over early and often. Put together with a perfect performance on the mound, the Trojans cruised to a 12-0 victory. Although the offense was a little more subdued in game two, it was still more than enough to get the job done while a duo of Trojan pitchers held firm to give Atlantic an 8-1 win in game two.
Despite the offense being the story of game one, the opening inning belonged to the pitchers. Camryn Goshorn retired the Trojans in order, while Zoey Kirchhoff returned the favor to the Cyclones. It was the second inning that kicked-started the Trojan offense. Jillian Saathoff started the rally with a double (her first of three hits in game one). The next two Trojans would reach base safely before Makenna Schroeder knocked in her first of two RBIs to put Atlantic up 3-0. The next at bat, Lila Wiederstein hit the first of four Trojan homers to open up a five-run lead.
The Trojans added three more long bombs in the third. Kirchhoff, Saathoff, and Peyton McLaren all sent balls over the fence. In addition to a Wiederstein double and a McKenna Sonntag single, the Trojans took a commanding 12-0 lead.
Where the offensive performance was explosive, the pitching performance from Zoey Kirchhoff was clinical. Her ability to change speeds set up her rise-ball, and she was largely untouchable. Putting up a perfect four innings, Kirchhoff collected six strikeouts en route to a shutout win.
Unlike game one, Atlantic scored in the opening inning of game two. Wiederstein led off with a triple and was driven in the following at-bat by Dylin Ball. Despite the early start, the Trojans would be held at bay by Lauren Schmitz. It wasn’t until the fourth that Atlantic would score four straight baserunners. This included Wiederstein’s fourth RBI of the day.
On the mound, the tag team of Peyton McLaren and Brynn Lamp were more than capable of holding off the Cyclones. McLaren started the ball game and was nearly perfect. Working four innings, she gave up just a single hit in the fourth representing Harlan’s first baserunner of the day. Although she struggled at times with location, she battled back in counts numerous times and ended her outing with six strikeouts. Brynn Lamp came in to close the door. Despite giving up four hits, she was able to limit the damage to just one run as the Trojans walked away from Harlan with two wins.
All in all, it was a very solid night for the Trojans. Wiederstein went 4-for-7 with 5 RBIs, Saathoff went 3-for-5 with 2 extra-base hits, and Makenna Schroeder went 4-for-6 with three RBIs. Although there are some things to work on, it was a good showing for the Trojans in a series they’ve dominated of late. The Pair of wins moved the Trojans to 6-1 on the season. Up next is a highly anticipated ranked matchup with Creston Tuesday night. The matchup is scheduled for 7:30 pm at Creston.