Hay makers, Swedes are fighting hard in the sub-districts
Jessica Kennedy Lexington Clipper-Herald
GOTHENBURG — On Monday, Oct. 3, the Cozad Haymakers and Gothenburg Swedes softball teams took on Southern Valley and Minden in sub-district battle.
It was a gloomy, windy, cold evening with some sporadic rain but that didn’t stop the teams from doing their best.
The evening began with Gothenburg against the Minden Whippets.
The Swedes took the field when Brianna Houchin hit the mound for the first out. Gothenburg went three up and three out.
At bat, the Swedes lifted by swinging hard and scored five runs in the bottom of the first inning.
Minden scored a run in the top of the second as the Swedes struggled to throw the ball in. The Swedes rallied and ended the inning with two outs.
The Whippets defense took a hard hit in the bottom of the second when Gothenburg ran in nine goals.
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Up 14 to one, the Swedes took the field one last time. A huge double play for the Swedes took the first two outs as Hannah Devlin took the hit and then threw the ball to second baseman Sierra Herfel for the second out. The Whippets had two outs against them and a runner on second base. Minden scored on a ground ball. Swede Houchin took the third out with a strike out.
Gothenburg won the series 14 to two and advanced to the final sub-district game.
The Haymakers faced the Southern Valley/Alma Saints in game two.
Cozad struggled to get his game going in the first two rounds. The score was two big goose eggs for both teams as they started the third inning.
The Makers went three up and three out in the top of the third, leaving the Saints scoreless.
At bat, the Lady Makers had some great hits in the bottom of the third that gave them three runs scored.
The Haymakers scored a run in both the fourth and fifth innings as they shut out the Saints.
The Saints were struck down in the top of the sixth when Madison Sayer struck out two batters to end the inning.
One last at bat for Cozad, Taylor Howell and Clatyn Fleharty ran in the final two runs.
The Saints gave it a last ditch effort in the top of the seventh inning. Haymaker Cadence Phaby threw the first two outs to first baseman Greeley Cargill. Sayer took the third out to end the game.
Cozad won the competition seven to zero and advanced to Gothenburg.
The last matchup of the evening had the Swedes against the Haymakers, winners of the Districts.
Gothenburg came out strong in the first inning with three runs scored when Cozad was shut down.
The story was similar in the second inning as the Haymakers failed to score and the Swedes scored two runs.
Cozad turned the tables in the top of the third with a single to shut out the Swedes.
The fourth inning was quiet for both teams as no runs were scored.
After fighting back in the fifth inning, the Haymakers ran in three runs to close the gap five to one while holding Gothenburg from scoring.
The sixth inning caused the Swedes to go three up and three out on the field. In the bottom of the sixth, the Haymakers battled back to get three outs and send the game into the seventh inning.
Hoping to score in the top of the seventh inning, the Haymakers couldn’t handle the heat from Swedish pitcher Devlin. Devlin struck out McKenzie Munster for the first out. Maker Kinley Armagost was thrown out first by Sweden’s Alyvia Streeter for second out. Haymaker Madison Rowley hit a grounder to third baseman Houchin and was thrown out at first to end the game.
The Gothenburg Swedes won the Class C9 sub Districts in a tight match, five to four.
The Swedes advanced to 20 and fourth on the season.
Gothenburg will face Polk County at Districts; further information is not available at this time.