MEEKER | The No. 18 Meeker Cowboy softball team headed to Strasburg for regionals. They took on No. 15 Brush for a chance to qualify for the state tournament at Aurora Sports Complex Oct. 20 and 21.
The Cowboys came out swinging and tacked on four runs in the first inning to start the game off very strong. The inning started with a lead off bunt by Miah Wren who beat out the throw to first base. Wren went on to steal second base and advanced to third on a hit by Ashlynn Ducey, who also beat out a throw from the second baseman. Ducey stole second base as well and set up two runners in scoring position for Kastyn Dembowski’s at bat. Dembowski hit a hard grounder between the shortstop and third baseman to score Wren and put the Cowboys on the board first. Ryann Mergelman was up to bat next and put the ball into play to the shortstop, beating out the throw and scoring Ducey from third. Mergelman stole second while Dembowski scored on the overthrow to second base. Mergelman advances to third base on a passed ball to put herself into scoring position for Emma Bauer. Bauer hits a deep fly ball to right field to allow Mergelman to tag up and score from third on the catch. The Cowboys continued the rally with Jade Miller stepping up and hitting a stand up triple past the right fielder for a two out rally.
In the bottom of the first, the Brush Beetdiggers put up two runs on a few miscues by the Cowboys including a leadoff walk and a few overthrows but the Cowboys held them at only two runs and got out of the inning with a double play by Addie Knowles catching a line drive back at her and throwing to second base to catch the runner with a big lead.
The second inning did not disappoint, a great leadoff walk by Autumn Stallings, Wren beating out another bunt to advance to second, Ducey hit a hard fly ball to left field to score Stallings The Cowboys defense kept the Beetdiggers close in the second with a strikeout from Knowles, a great stop by Bauer at first for an out, and a grounder up the middle was knocked down by Mergelman at shortstop but she was able to get to her feet and throw out the runner trying to get home on the hit. The throw was right on to Miley Chism at home plate who put down the tag for the final out of the inning.
Cowboys continued to cause chaos with Chism hitting a blooper behind third base but turning it into a double for a leadoff hit in the top of the third inning. Chism scores on a hit by Stallings between the first baseman and second baseman to make the score 6-2.
The defense stepped up for the Cowboys starting the bottom of the third inning with a great catch in foul territory by third baseman Jade Miller to start the inning, Ducey making a great play at second base to smother a hard hit ball and get the out at one, and Chism behind the plate blocks a ball in the dirt and throws out the runner trying to advance to third on the low pitch. Brush continued to make hard contact and put the ball in play to make the Cowboy defense work hard to make plays. Meeker had a few grounders get through the infield to help the Beetdiggers score runs but the Cowboys stayed tough even after a few defensive mishaps to allow Brush to tack on a few more runs to put the score at 6-5.
Meeker added one more run late in the game with a double to left center at the fence from Mergelman to score Wren.
The Cowboys held the Beetdiggers to no runs in the bottom of the sixth inning with a great catch by Knowles, a strikeout, and a grounder field by Knowles to get the out at one; but the Cowboys went scoreless themselves in the top of the seventh inning even after loading up the bases and went into the bottom of the seventh with a two run lead.
“The entire Cowboy lineup stepped up big today to get the job done and secure their spot in the round of 16 State tournament,” commented head coach Kendal Bergman. “I am very excited to continue the season with this group and continue with stellar seniors Dembowski and Mergelman.”
The Meeker Cowboys then had the opportunity to play for the Regional Championship against number two Strasburg.
“The game against Strasburg was a great opportunity to see the talent and level that we strive for and be able to compete with a team of that caliber,” said Bergman.
The Cowboys fell 11-1 but without a few errors early on.
“I believe we could have kept the game much closer,” commented Bergman.
Strasburg held Meeker to three hits, one to Wren, Stallings, and Knowles.
Kailynn Watson got the start in the circle and held the Indians to no runs into the second inning but a few hits and a few errors caused six runs total in the second inning. Knowles then went in to pitch the remainder of the game, she fought hard even after an exhausting and impressive outing in the first game.
The game started explosively with solid hits from the Indians but the defense shined with a stellar catch at the fence by center fielder Wren, she secured the ball even after bouncing off the fence. Strasburg tacked on a few more runs to secure the win in the fifth inning.
“Even with the loss to the No. 2 seed, this experience will greatly help the confidence of the team going into next weekend,” said Bergman. “We have already competed against the best and held our own, we know exactly what we need to do to be successful in our next games”.
The Cowboys received the 16th seed in the tournament that begins Friday. They will face the No. 1 seed Eaton on Friday at the State Tournament. A pep rally and send off for the softball team is scheduled for 12:45 p.m. Thursday.
