Sports : TOUGH NIGHT AT THOLE FIELD – VIKETTES DROP PAIR TO BOBCATS

Vikette Brittany Robertson makes the play at second.

V-S 3rd baseman Katie Henderson fires to first on a bunt play.

VINTON – Well, it certainly wasn’t the home opener the Vinton-Shellsburg Vikettes were looking for Monday night.

The Vikettes were stunned by a winless Benton Community squad at Thole Field, on Memorial Day night, as the Bobcats took a 12-6, 9-5 sweep. It was not pretty.

In the opener, the Lady Bobcats belted a pair of home runs among eight hits, took advantage of five walks and three errors and batted around twice on the way to the rout.

The Vikettes managed to pound out six hits and scored a season-high six runs, but it was not enough to offset the ‘Cats’ onslaught.

The home team scored a run in the first on Katie Henderson’s single and steal, Ashley Boyer’s sacrifice, and a ground out by Brittany Robertson. In the third, Henderson reached on a one out error, then came all the way around to score on a triple into the right field corner by Boyer. Boyer scored on an error and at that point it was a 4-3 game.

By the bottom of the sixth, it was already 9-3 when the Vikettes added two more runs. Jena Relf reached on an error and Kristin Henderson walked, but both were still there with two outs. Pinch-hitter Mackie Stueck reached on a two-out walk, and then Katie Henderson ripped a two-run single to cut the lead to 9-5. The last run came in the bottom of the seventh when Kaley Womochil’s two-out single scored Robertson.

Lindsey Noren (1-2) took the loss for the Vikettes.

Boyer was two for four with two triples an RBI and a run scored. Katie Henderson was two for four, scored twice and drove in a pair.

After the Vikettes went down on order to start the second game, the Bobcats put up seven runs in as bizarre an inning as you could see. With one out, Benton managed to string together a a bloop single, four errors in the next five batters, three passed ball runs and three more hits off freshman Maddie Cornell.

But from there, Cornell settled down, giving up just two runs on three hits the rest of the way.

The Vikettes put up a three-spot in the third. Stueck singled, and one out later, Katie Henderson was hit by a pitch. After Boyer walked, Robertson ripped a two-run single, and Ashley Strong drove home Boyer with a ground out and the margin was down to four at 7-3.

After Benton made it 9-3 in the third, the Vikettes added another run in the fourth, when Kelsey Beatty’s two-ount single scored Kristin Henderson.

The final V-S run came in the seventh when Boyer led off with a double – her third extra-base hit of the game – and pinch-runner Devon Ankeny came around to score on Robertson’s single. The Vikettes loaded the bases with one out in the inning, but went down from there.

The Vikettes take tonight off, then return home Wednesday for a JV/varsity showdown with Western Dubuque, beginning at 6 p.m. at Thole Field. Thursday they team goes to Anamosa, before a Saturday trip to La Porte City to take on Union.