DeWitt at Holt – – Softball Doubleheader – – First Game – – The Bleacher Denizen – – May 8, 2023 – – by Chuck Krafft

In the beginning of this rollicking piano solo from my You Tube Channel, I tell my listeners that you never know where the Red River Valley will lead you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w03AhhNk1M8

Unfortunately, one place it does not lead is Holt High School. However, Holt Road does lead there, so I will be able to cover this softball header where the Rams from Holt will host the Panthers from DeWitt.

Here are the starting lineups.

DEWITT:

Natalie Donaldson cf

Gabbie Brya 2b

Kyra Shadduck p

Madeline Torrence 3b

Maddie Bekkering c

Lily Utrup lf

Megan Scaccia rf

Ruby Puck ss

Eliana Logan dp

Kennedy George will play first base, but will not bat.

HOLT:

Aliya McFadden 2b

Olivia Root cf

Sadie Laubenthal ss

Abby McCartney c

Kaelyn Rozicki 3b

Marlie Rehm dp

Eeva Louma rf

Lola Knox 1b

Paeton Vandlen lf

Kara Sandberg will pitch, but will not bat.

It is now time to look at the events of this game through the generally open eyes of an aging Bleacher Denizen who was loved far and wide by opposing catchers and umpires because of the nice, cooling breezes generated by his flailing swings at the ball. (I have to imagine that the balls also enjoyed getting to the catcher’s mitt without any fear of being hit by my bat!!)

Natalie Donaldson opened the game for DeWitt by beating out an infield single. Kara Sandberg retired the next Panther hitter on a popped up bunt to the pitcher’s circle. Natalie Donaldson beat a good throw by Holt Catcher Abby McCartney to steal second base. Kyra Shadduck hit a solid single to right field to drive Natalie Donaldson home. After the next Panther hitter was out on a fly to the shortstop, Catcher Abby McCartney fired to second base to catch the runner stealing for the third out.

DeWitt scored one run in the top of the first inning to take a 1-0 lead.

Aliya McFadden walked to lead off the bottom of the first inning for Holt. Kyra Shadduck struck out the next Holt hitter. Aliya McFadden stole second base. Kyra Shadduck struck out the next two Ram batters to end the inning.

Kara Sandberg retired the three Panther batters in the top of the second inning on a grounder to second base, a strikeout and a popup to the shortstop.

Kyra Shadduck struck out the Holt leadoff batter in the bottom of the seventh inning. DeWitt left fielder Lily Utrup went way back in the outfield to catch a long fly off the bat of Marlie Rehm. Kyra Shadduck struck out the next batter to end the inning.

After two full innings, DeWitt had a 1-0 lead.

Kara Sandberg struck out DeWitt’s leadoff batter in the top of the third inning. The next Panther batter was out on a fly to center field. Natalie Donaldson was safe at first on an error. Gabby Brya lined out to the shortstop for the third Panther out of the inning.

Lola Knox beat out an infield single to lead off the bottom of the third inning for Holt; she went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Paeton Vandlen. Kyra Shadduck struck out the next batter. Lola Knox advanced to third base when the third strike was dropped and the catcher had to throw to first base to get the out. Kyra Shadduck struck out the next Holt batter.

Eeva Louma made a fine running catch of Kyra Shadduck’s drive to right field to record DeWitt’s first out of the top of the fourth inning. Holt First Baseman Lola Knox made a great stretch to help retired DeWitt’s next batter on a grounder to the shortstop. Maddie Bekkering drew a walk. Maddie Bekkering came around to score when Lily Utrup belted a double off the center field fence.

Lily Utrup stole third base. When the throw went into left field, Paeton Vandlen made an alert play to quickly get the ball back to the infield to prevent Lily Utrup from scoring. Megan Scaccia drew a walk. Abby McCartney fired the ball to third base to pick off the runner to record the third out.

DeWitt scored one run in the top of the fourth inning to take a 4-0 lead.

Sadie Laubenthal opened the bottom of the fourth inning by ripping a double down the left field line. Panther Right Fielder Megan Scaccia made a fine running catch of a drive to right field by Abby McCartney to record the first Ram out. Kaelyn Rozicki walked. Panther Center Fielder Natalie Donaldson made a fine running catch of a drive by Marlie Rehm to record the second Ram out. Megan Scaccia made a great effort on a fly to right field by Eeva Louma, but the ball dropped in for a double that drove in Sadie Laubenthal and Kaelyn Rozicki.

Lola Knox walked. Kyra Shadduck struck out the next hitter to end the inning.

Holt scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to tie the game at 2-2.

The rain is starting to come down; it’s making the ball much more difficult to handle.

Ruby Puck doubled to center field to lead off the top of the fifth inning for DeWitt. Ruby Puck went to third base on a wild pitch. Eliana Logan walked. Natalie Donaldson tripled to the center field fence to drive in Ruby Puck and Eliana Logan. The next two Panther hitters were out on a soft flies to first base and shortstop.

Madeline Torrence doubled to center field to drive in Natalie Donaldson. Olivia Root made a fine running catch of a drive by Maddie Bekkering to record the third out. DeWitt scored three runs in the top of the fifth inning to take a 5-2 lead.

Kyra Shadduck retired the Ram leadoff batter in the bottom of the fifth inning on a fly to right field. Olivia Root doubled to center field. Sadie Laubenthal drew a walk. Abby McCartney walked to load the bases. The next Ram hitter was out on a popup to second base. Daryonna Terry came in to pinch run at first base.

Marlie Rehm walked to force Olivia Root home. Sadie Laubenthal went to third base and Daryonna Terry took second base. Eeva Louma grounded a single to center field to drive in Daryonna Terry and Sadie Laubenthal. Marlie Rehm advanced to second base. Marlie Rehm took third base and Eeva Louma second on a passed ball. Lola Knox walked to load the bases. Kyra Shadduck retired the next Ram batter on a fly to right field to end the inning.

Holt scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to tie the game at 5-5.

Kara Sandberg struck out the DeWitt leadoff batter in the top of the sixth inning. Megan Scaccia drew a walk. Ruby Puck lined a single down the left field line and Megan Scaccia advanced to second base. Eliana Logan doubled to right field to drive Ruby Puck and Megan Scaccia home. Natalie Donaldson was intentionally walked and Eliana Logan went to second base.

Eliana Logan took third base and Natalie Donaldson second on Gabbie Brya’s ground out to the shortstop. Kyra Shadduck’s doubled to left field to drive in Eliana Logan and Natalie Donaldson . Jaydin Jubeck entered the game as a courtesy runner for Kyra Shadduck. Madeline Torrence walked. Maddie Bekkering beat out an infield single to drive in Jaydin Jubeck as Madeline Torrence went to third base. Briala Lopez entered the game as a courtesy runner for Maddie Bekkering and took second base on a wild pitch. Kara Sandberg retired the next Panther hitter on a grounder to third base to end the inning.

DeWitt scored five runs in the top of the sixth inning to take a 10-5 lead. (Please note that the drizzling rain is making it very difficult for pitchers and hitters.)

Aliya McFadden grounded a single to center field to lead off the sixth inning for Holt. Pinch Hitter Lynaee Hill singled to center field. Sadie Laubenthal singled to load the bases. Abby McCarthy singled to right field to drive in Aliya McFadden as Lynaee Hill went to third base and Sadie Laubenthal took second base. DeWitt Shortstop Ruby Puck made a great catch running back into left field to record the second out. Lynaee Hill scored and Sadie Laubenthal advanced to third base. Daryonna Terry, who came in as a courtesy runner for Abby McCartney went to second base.

Kyra Shadduck retired the next two batters on a pop up to the pitcher and a foul popup to the catcher to end the inning.

Holt scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to shave the DeWitt lead to 10-7.

Megan Scaccia singled up the middle to lead off the top of the seventh inning for DeWitt. Ruby Puck was safe at first when the runner was out at second base on a fielder’s choice play. Kara Sandberg struck out the next Panther batter. Natalie Donaldson singled up the middle to send Ruby Puck to second base. Kara Sandberg retired the next batter on a grounder to shortstop to hold DeWitt scoreless for the inning.

Natalie Donaldson came in to pitch for DeWitt. Kennedy George took over at first base and Kyra Shadduck moved to shortstop. There were a couple other position changes that your aging Bleacher Denizen missed.

DeWitt Second Baseman Gabbie Brya alertly covered first base on a slow roller by the Holt leadoff batter to record Holt’s first out of the seventh inning. DeWitt Pitcher Natalie Donaldson retired the next two Holt batters on a strikeout and a grounder to third base to end the game.

DeWitt won the first game of this doubleheader by a 10-7 score. The rain caused a lot of pitching problems during the game. There was supposed to be a second game tonight, but it was called off because of the rain.

Eeva Louma had a double, a single and four RBI for Holt. Sadie Laubenthal had a double, a single and one RBI. Abby McCartney had a single and one RBI. Olivia Root had a double. Aliya McFadden, Lola Knox and Lynaee Hill each had one single.

Kara Sandberg pitched the complete game for the Rams.

Natalie Donaldson had a triple, two singles and two RBI for DeWitt. Kyra Shadduck had a single, a double and three RBI. Eliana Logan had a single, a double and two RBI. Ruby Puck had a double and a single. Madeline Torrence and Lily Utrup each had a double and one RBI. Maddie Bekkering had a single and one RBI.

Kyra Shadduck pitched six of the seven innings and struck out eight batters. Natalie Donaldson pitched the seventh inning and struck out one batter as she retired all three hitters that she faced.