Shiner Gazette

Lady Cards sweep DH with BSJ

  • Second baseman Stefany Pokluda makes a throw to first base. Photo by Mark Lube.
    Second baseman Stefany Pokluda makes a throw to first base. Photo by Mark Lube.

    The St. Paul Cardinals continue to be on the rise as the regular season winds down and showed this in sweeping a double header at home against Bryan St. Joseph 16-1 and 16-0 on Friday..
     “The last couple of weeks we have been playing pretty good softball. The pitchers are throwing strikes; we’re hitting the ball better. Just have to continue getting better,” head coach Lance Giese said.
    “We all came out swinging and have been preparing all week for these games,” senior shortstop-pitcher Syndey Green said. “We adjusted to the pitching and I feel like now that we are getting close to the end of the season, we are playing our best softball.”
    St. Paul 16, BSJ 1 (Game 1)
    St. Joseph took advantage of a leadoff walk to score in the first inning. It was all they would score in the game (and in the series).
    In the bottom of the first, Green got a leadoff double and later went to third on a passed ball. Stefany Pokluda picked up a walk and Rayleigh Biehunko brought in both players on a double.
    Tori Walker singled to score Biehunko and with two outs, runner Jessica Fikac scored on a Gracie Machart double, followed by Brooke Cerny getting a hit. Machart and Cerny went home on Ashlyn Pesek’s hit for a 6-1 lead. Pitcher Julia Machacek got St. Paul quickly through the top of the second with three straight strikeouts.
    Pokluda led off the bottom of the inning with a single before stealing second and going home on two errors by St. Joseph, Behunko got a hit and went to second on Walker’s sacrifice groundout. Machacek singled and Seryna Garza was walked. Machart then got her second double to score Biehunko, runner Dallyn Pesek and Garza.  Machart advanced home on a Cerny hit and few batters later, Green had a two-out solo home run for a 13-1 Lady Cardinal lead.
    In the third frame, Machacek reached second on an error and her runner Dallyn Pesek, went to third on the wild pitch and scored on Garza’s single for the lone run of the inning.
    In the fourth inning, Machart got a leadoff walk and her runner, Samantha Moeller, went to second on a hit by Cerny; Ashlyn Pesek reached on a fielder’s choice and Samantha Moeller was out at third.
    Ashlyn Pesek eventually reached third and beat a fielder’s choice throw home on the hit by Biehunko to end the game.
    St. Paul hitting/offense — Brooke Cerny, 3-3, 3 runs, 1 RBI, 3 stolen bases; Sydney Green, 2-4, 1 home run, 2 runs, 1 double, 1 RBI; Gracie Machart, 2-2, 2 runs, 2 doubles, 4 RBI; Rayleigh Biehunko, 2-4, 2 runs, 1 double, 3 RBI; Stefany Pokluda, 1-2, 2 runs, 2 stolen bases; Ashlyn Pesek, 1-3, 1 run, 2 RBI, 3 stolen bases; Seryna Garza, 1-2, 1 run, 1 RBI, 1 stolen base; Tori Walker, 1-2; Julia Machacek, 1-3;  Jessica Fikac, 2 runs, 1 stolen base; Dallyn Pesek, 2 runs, 1 stolen bases.
    St. Paul pitching — Machacek, 4 IP, winning pitcher, 1 run, 2 walks, 9K.
    St. Paul fielding/defense —Biehunko, 2 putouts; , Green, 1 putout, 1 assist; Pokluda, 2 assists.
    St. Paul 16, BSJ 0 (Game 2)
    The Lady Cardinals grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first inning of the second game as Pokluda was walked and scored on a Walker sacrifice.
    In the second inning, seven different players scored one run each and five players scored an additional run as St. Paul got eight hits and drove in 11 runs. Green led the effort with a double and triple and St. Joseph did not help themselves out with five errors.
    In the bottom of the third, Emily Moeller reached on an error and later scored on a steal of home; Machart got a hit.
     Alyssa Jasek got on base and Paris Flach had an RBI single to score Machart.  Ashlyn Pesek’s two-run single concluded the contest.
    St. Paul  hitting/offense — Sydney Green, 2-3, 1 triple, 1 double, 4 RBI;  Rayleigh Biehunko, 2-2, 1 run, 1 double, 3 stolen bases; Gabby Rodriguez, 2-2, 2 runs, 1 RBI;  Jessica Fikac, 2-2, 2 runs; Stefany Pokluda, 1-1, 2 runs,  1 RBI, 1 stolen base; Gracie Machart, 1-1, 1 run, 1 stolen base;  Paris Flach, 1-1, 2 runs, 1 RBI; Ashlyn Pesek, 1-2, 2 runs, 2 RBI; Emily Moeller, 3 runs, 1 stolen base; Alyssa Jasek, 1 run; Seryna Garza, 1 RBI; Tori Walker, 1 RBI
    St. Paul pitching — Green, 3 IP, winning pitcher, 7K.
    St. Paul fielding/defense — Biehunko, 2 putouts, 1 assist; Garza, 1 putout; Pokluda, 1 assist.
    The Lady Cardinals were scheduled to host the Sacred Heart Indianettes on Tuesday of this week.
    The TAPPS 2A playoffs are set to start next week.