Softball season concludes

By Gary O. Riess, Softball CoachThe first game was played on April 15, and the final game of the 2002 season was played on May 17. In that time the Cubs played 19 games in a compressed schedule because of the spring weather conditions. The final game was a microcosm of the entire season as the Cubs were defeated 4-3 by BBE in the Subsection 5A playoffs. That was the seventh one-run game of the season and along with three two-run decisions, it meant that 10 of the 19 games were decided by two runs or less. That made for some exciting games, but the unfortunate part was that Kimball won only one of those 10 games.

The last week saw five games played starting with a doubleheader against CMC conference champion and second-ranked Big Lake. Big Lake demonstrated why they went through the CMC undefeated as they handed the Cubs a pair of shut-out defeats. In 14 conference games this year, Big Lake was only scored upon in three games. Jodine Lemke and Tammy Kuechle had hits in the first game and Lemke, Amanda Linn, and Kuechle had hits in the second game. Jenny Gully pitched both games, walking two and striking out two.

Holdingford came to Kimball for the final home game on Tuesday. The Kimball offense continued to struggle with Linn and Kuechle getting the only Kimball hits. Kuechle and Christy Pladson scored runs for the Cubs, but two runs were not enough. Gully again went the distance, walking two and striking out two. The Cub defense faltered as well, committing seven errors which led to seven unearned runs in a 10-2 defeat. Holdingford finished in third place in the CMC behind champion Big Lake and runnerup Rockford.

After a day off on Wednesday, the Cubs went to Pierz. The ensuing slugfest was a far cry from the team’s first meeting, which was a 3-2 Kimball win. This time Pierz prevailed by a 14-13 score. Pladson got the Cubs started with a triple, to lead off the game. She and Linn scored for 2-0 lead. A two-run homerun by Peggy VanNurden in the third put the Cubs up by a 4-1 score. Pierz rallied in the bottom of the inning, scoring five times with a homerun, triple, two singles, and an error. In the fourth, Kimball tallied four runs with Pladson, Linn, Kuechle, and Jenny Hokkala, scoring to take an 8-6 lead. Kuechle and Kim Mackereth had RBIs. The runs kept on coming, and the game entered the seventh inning, with the Cubs down by the score of 11-9. Hokkala lead off with a single. Pladson and Linn reached base and Kuechle drove in two runs. Lemke and Erin Montonye singled to drive in two more, giving the Cubs a 13-11 lead into the bottom of the seventh. With one out, a fielder’s choice and single put two runners aboard. The Pierz catcher then connected for her second home run of the game to give Pierz a 14-13 win. Kimball had a season high 16 hits. Kuechle and VanNurden had three hits; Pladson, Linn, and Montonye had two hits; and Lemke, Mackereth, Hokkala, and Angie Garding each had one. Every Kimball starter had a hit and six players scored runs with Kuechle, Pladson, and Linn scoring three times and Hokkala and Montonye scoring twice. Pierz, however, had the last shot with 17 hits, including three homeruns and two triples.

The Subsection 5A playoffs began on Friday with the seventh seeded Cubs taking on the second seed BBE Jaguars. BBE struck first in the bottom of the first, with three runs on three hits including a triple for a 3-0 lead. Kimball pitcher Jenny Gully then settled down to pitch a fine game, giving up three more hits and one unearned run the rest of the game. She recorded four strikeouts and walked none. The Cubs committed just one error, which lead to an unearned run in the fifth inning. That first inning deficit turned out to be the difference in the game, as the Cubs could only muster three runs and fell to the Jaguars by a 4-3 margin. Kim Mackereth and Peggy VanNurden scored in the second to cut the deficit to 3-2. Runners were stranded at 2nd and third in both the second and fifth innings. In the sixth, Kimball loaded the bases with no outs. Mackereth scored on a ground out to cut the deficit to 4-3, but the Jaguars then got a double play to end the threat and the inning. Kimball couldn’t muster a rally in the seventh and the game and the season ended.

The Cubs graduate six seniors from this year’s team. Kim Mackereth, Christy Pladson, Jenny Hokkala, Peggy VanNurden, Brandy Stuve and Heather Nystrom. Six players will return next season. They are shortstop and leading hitter Tammy Kuechle, pitcher Jenny Gully, catcher Amanda Linn, first base Erin Montonye, rightfielder Angie Garding, and third base Jodine Lemke. The Cubs will build around that nucleus and hope those close games next season end up in the win column. This concludes the twenty-fifth season of Kimball softball. The next quarter century begins in March, 2003.