Softball Gets Key Victory at #22 Midland

(Fremont, NE) – The Hastings Broncos cooled off a red-hot Midand Warrior team, who came into the matchup winners of 12 of their last 13 games. Hastings took down #22 Midland, 7-3, in the first game, then the Warriors rallied to win game two, 5-4.

Neither team found much of an offensive rhythm until the Broncos came up to bat in the top of the fourth. Junior Lauren Schneider led off the inning with a single, then sophomore Kaylee Pinneo and junior Lauren Lee reached to load the bases with nobody out. Hastings then scored three runs on three straight RBI singles by junior Ana Medeiros, senior Lexie Mudloff, and junior Katyn Kappler to go up 3-0.

Junior pitcher Kiera Brack threw a no-hitter through the first 4.1 innings, allowing just one baserunner on a walk in the third. Midland hit a double with one out in the fifth, but senior Isabel Tanabe snagged a line drive and picked off the runner at second.

Hastings was able to add some critical insurance runs in the seventh. They loaded the bases with one out in the seventh and an error committed by the Midland center fielder off the bat of Lee turned into two runs. Later in the inning with the bases loaded and two out, Kappler singled to right to bring home two more runs, as Hastings grabbed a commanding 7-0 lead going to the final frame.

Midland hung tough right down to the end, battling back with one on and two out in the seventh. Five straight hits, including back-to-back doubles to start the sequence, led to four runs. With Hastings clinging to a 7-4 lead, the Warriors walked to load the bases, but Brack closed the door by getting the final batter to fly out to left field.

Brack improves to 11-8 on the year, pitching seven innings and allowing four runs on seven hits with one strikeout. Pinneo, Mudloff, and Kappler were each 2-4 at the plate, with Kappler leading the team in RBIs with three in game one.

Their offense carried over to start game two as well, as Tanabe began the game with a single and took second on an error. After a walk to Schneider, Pinneo cranked a double to center to score Tanabe. Lee put Hastings up 2-0 on a productive groundout to third. Hastings added a run in the third, as senior Shey Storesund walked and stole second, setting up an RBI single by Tanabe to go up 3-0.

Midland got two runs back in the third on three hits, but Hastings got out of the inning with an outfield assist from Kappler, throwing out the runner going to second. The Warriors took a 4-3 lead in the fourth with two runs, tying it up on a single and taking the lead on a fielder's choice.

A leadoff walk by Schneider to begin the fifth turned into a game-tying run, occurring on a two-out RBI single from Mudloff to make it 4-4. Midland retook the lead in the bottom of the sixth, with the lead runner reaching on an error and advancing to second, eventually scoring on an RBI single to put the Warriors up 5-4.

Hastings had a good start to the seventh with a single from Schneider, but Midland turned a double play shortly after and a flyout ended the game.

Tanabe and Medeiros led the Broncos with two hits in game two and Schneider scored two of the four runs.

Up next, Hastings will host the Doane Tigers on Senior Day for a double-header on Saturday, April 26 beginning at 1pm. The games will hold extra importance, as Hastings (8-12) trails Doane (8-10) for seventh in the conference standings, with the top eight teams advancing to the GPAC Tournament. Doane will face Mount Marty in a double-header tomorrow prior to Saturday's matchup. Dordt is currently eighth at 7-11, but holds the tiebreaker over the Broncos.