Bulldogs sneak by Wildcats

HAMPTON—- The Hampton-Dumont-CAL Bulldogs softball team was able to hang on for the win as they defeated the Humboldt Wildcats 5-4 on June 12. The Bulldogs are 4-7 on the year.

The Bulldogs took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning and added a run in the third inning to make it 2-0. The Bulldogs then added another run in the fourth inning to make it 3-0. Humboldt scored two runs in the top of the fifth to make it 3-2, but the Bulldogs scored a run in the bottom half of the inning to make it 4-2. But Humboldt tied the game at 4-4 after scoring two runs in the top of the sixth inning. 

In the bottom of the sixth inning Emma Ott got on first and later made it to second base. But Ott was thrown out at home on a base hit to keep the game tied. Madison Heilskov also reached first and later advanced to third as the Bulldogs had runners at the corner with one out in the inning. Charlee Morton then went up to bat and during her plate appearance the ball got past the Wildcat’s catcher and Heilskov was able to slide into home to give the Bulldogs a 5-4 lead. The Bulldogs were then able to close out the game in the top of the seventh inning.

Bulldogs head coach Kelsey Enslin said that the win was a learning experience for the team as she said that in the past the team has not responded well to a situation like that.

“So to jump out and get girls on base right away. The girls just need to know that they have to believe in themselves and their teammates because they have the ability to do those things,” Enslin said. 

One reason the Bulldogs were able to execute in the sixth inning and take advantage of their opportunity to retake the lead was how they were seeing the ball according to Enslin.

“All night they were seeing the ball well and making good decisions at the plate,” Enslin said. “They were swinging the bats really well which has not been our strength or going as we had hoped. But against Humboldt we had good pitch selection and hit the ball hard and made the defense make plays.”

The Bulldogs had 10 hits in the game, Ott led the team with three hits. Heilskov, Aspen Harlan, Mallory Rieken, and Teaghan Bird all had two hits each. Harlan, Addison Aalbers, and Ott all led the team with one RBI each. Pitching wise, Malie Ott pitched five innings and struck out five batters and gave up two runs on six hits and hit one batter. Harlan pitched two innings and struck out three batters while giving up two runs on two hits and one walk.

With the Bulldogs scoring at least a run for multiple innings in the game, Enslin said that kind of success helped the team’s confidence.

“You walk up to the plate and you are like oh we did it again and like I can do this, I can have a good at bat,” Enslin said. “Softball is so much of a momentum sport so when you continue to score and you put pressure on their defense the momentum just continues to carry. And with that our defense played pretty flawlessly that night so we were helping our pitcher out and we were making plays.”

With the win, Enslin said that one thing the team can continue to work on is pitch selection and another area the team can work on is being aggressive at the plate early on.

“Don’t put yourself in a position where the pitcher is controlling your at bat,” Enslin said.

The team’s next game is at home on June 19th against Algona. It will be a varsity doubleheader and the first game is at 5:30 p.m.