The Atlantic Trojans kept their perfect conference record intact Tuesday with a 16-2 win in four innings over the Clarinda Cardinals. Atlantic’s approach at the plate was everything it needed to be. They avoided chasing which earned them seven walks, but it also forced the Cardinal pitchers to attack them. Led by Lila Wiederstein who went 2-3 for 4 RBIs, the Trojans rarely missed an opportunity to score. On the mound Brynn Lamp was very solid. Giving up two runs, she battled back in the count numerous times to put out Cardinal batters. It’s been a strong start to a busy week for the Trojans as the picked up their 18th win of the season.
Although the offense didn’t get off to a blazing start, their patience was apparent right off the bat. In addition to Wiederstein drawing a leadoff walk, numerous batters were able to battle back from an early hole in the count to put the ball in play. Thanks in part to a couple of errors, the Trojans pushed across a pair to take a 2-0 lead. The second inning was more of the same with the exception of Atlantic’s first hit. after a walk, and a hit by pitch Wiederstein step up with 2 on and 2 out and didn’t miss the opportunity. She ripped one to short where it ricochetted off the glove of Hadley Miller and into left scoring two.
The bats really started to come around in the third. After Peyton McLaren walked to led off the inning, Claire Schroeder (1-1, 2 BB) added another hit. After McLaren and Schroeder scored on an error, the lineup turned over the Wiederstein with two on once again. This time she gave it a long drive to left center. It missed a home run by a couple of feet, but it was more than enough to score two more runs and extend the lead to eight. Although the Cardinals scratched across a pair of runs in the bottom half of the third, Atlantic responded with eight more in the fourth. Four more Trojans added RBIs as they all but put the game to bed. All that was needed was the 1-2-3 bottom half from Brynn Lamp.
Head Coach Terry Hinzmann thought his team’s approach at the plate was one of the biggest keys.
Wiederstein continues to be massive part of the Trojans’ efforts both at the plate and behind it.
Lamp also continued her run of solid pitching.
The Trojan are the midst of a busy week and will face some tough competition over the weeekend. However, it also has some added upsides.
The Trojans will be back in action when they take on Shenandoah on the road. First ptich from Shenandoah will be at 7 pm.
