The 5-4 Eagle Grove Eagles headed to Manson to meet the Manson-NW-Webster Cougars at the Keith Hart Athletic Complex for an evening matchup on the first of June.
At first it seemed like anybody's game, as both teams chalked up a run in the first inning. However it was soon clear that the Eagles, who had found their stride halfway through the previous night's game against Lake Mills, were still on their A-game, and looking to make up for the 8 to 4 loss they almost pulled out of the ashes.
Braxton Steil got things going when she singled, stole second base, and finally scored on an error. But the Eagles' only error of the game came early and the Cougars took advantage of it to get on the scoreboard in their half of the first.
Going into the second inning with the score tied up, the Eagles got it into their minds that the Cougars were done scoring, but they were far from done. Olivia Conaway and Lily Locke both singled, then Conaway scored on Steil's second hit of the ballgame, breaking the tie and putting the Eagles in the lead by one.
In the third, Nadia Kaiser got the Lady Eagles into the swing of their best inning of the game with a single. Then Figueroa reached on an error. Then Maddison Kaiser took the plate and singled, giving her sister the chance to stomp the home plate. Conaway then brought Figueroa home with a well executed bunt. Locke then closed out the scoring drive for the inning by driving Maddison Kaiser in home with her second hit of the night.
The next three innings were a tug of war as both teams matched offense with an equal defense, with neither team managing to score.
Already well ahead and likely to win, the Eagles managed to break through for one lask run in the seventh, when Maddison Kaiser lit up the ballgame with her second single hit of the night. Kaiser then stole second, and ran it in when Locke smacked her third single of the ballgame.
Brooklyn Osborne commanded the mound, pitching the full victory, as the Eagles defense played its best game of the season, and walked away with a 6-1 victory.
"We played a very good ballgame, both offensively, with 11 hits, and defensively, with 1 error. We looked more confident at the play and we make several excellent defensive plays that kept the momentum with us," said Coach Jim McLaughlin. "This team is taking a lot of pride in how they play each game and they’re a lot of fun to watch."
Leading Eagles were Lily Locke and Brooklyn Osborne. Locke was the game's top hitter and MVP with 3 hits, 2 RBI's and one stolen base. Osborne pitched all seven innings, striking out three, and allowing only 5 hits.
