Jacks Softball Loses Tight Game To Ashland

Apr 28

Kerry Rodd-NSO

The Cloquet girls’ softball team suffered just their second loss of the season on Tuesday night when they fell to the Ashland Oredockers 6-5 at Braun Park.

The Oredockers stormed out to a 6-1 lead, but the Jacks fought back to score a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to cut the lead to 6-3.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Jacks pulled to within 6-5 and had the tying run on third and the winning run on second, but the rallied fizzled and fell short.

Cloquet pitcher, Katrina Korman, struggled early in the game, but then slammed the door shut on the Oredockers giving Cloquet a chance in the late innings. Meanwhile, Oredocker pitcher Breanna Holm worked hard on the inside part of the plate trying to jam the Cloquet hitters. That philosophy worked until the sixth and seventh innings, when the Jacks did a better job of recognizing pitches and becoming more selective at the plate. Once Cloquet got Holm to bring the ball back into the strike zone, they had better swings at the ball and they started to find their stride albeit a bit too late to win the game.

Alyssa Hanson and Dalyce Gustafson both helped lead the Cloquet offense with a pair of hits each, while Mariah Anderson of Ashland finished with a pair of runs batted in.

Kerry Rodd can be reached at Kerry@northlandsportsonline.com