Durant's Aubrey Werthmann and the Durant Wildcats remain ranked #4 in class 2A this week.  The Wildcats picked up two wins last week.  Photo by Ryan Stonebraker.

Wildcats Go 2-3 In five Games This Week

DURANT — It was an interesting week for the Durant softball team.  Five games, the first three on the road, and three straight losses for the first time since the 2014 season.  The Wildcats knew that losses could pile up this year after taking a traditionally aggressive approach to scheduling to another level.  The 2017 schedule heading into this upcoming week has 11 non-conference opponents and the average win total for those teams is 11.5 victories.  Of those, two schools are 2A or lower and the other nine are 3A or bigger.  Durant will play four home games this week before playing at the Linn-Mar softball tournament Friday and Saturday.

Wildcats Split Two Games At Home Round Robin Tournament

DURANT — The second round-robin softball tournament hosted by Durant brought larger schools Cedar Rapids Prairie and Davenport North to town.  Durant entered the game ranked #4 in 2A and Cedar Rapids Prairie ranked #15 in class 5A.

Durant split their two games with a 1-0 loss to Prairie and an 8-2 win over Davenport North.  The Wildcats fell 1-0 to Prairie.  The Wildcats couldn’t solve Prairie starter Natalie Halvorson.  Halvorson shutout the Wildcats over seven innings and struck out 13 Durant batters.  Haley McFarlane was 2-for-2 with a RBI single in the fourth.

The Wildcats beat Davenport North 8-2 in the second game.  The victory was the 16th for Durant on the season.

2-Run Fourth The Difference In Loss At Goose Lake

GOOSE LAKE — The Wildcats played well, but could not get past Northeast Goose Lake last Thursday in a RVC cross-division game.  There, the #4 ranked Wildcats fell 3-2 to the Rebels, losing their second game in four days.

Durant scored the game’s first run when Ruby Kappeler doubled, advanced to third on a Hannah Happ single and scored on the play when the Rebels committed an error.  Happ took second, on the play, but was stranded.  Northeast tied the game at 1-1 with a run in the third.  The Rebels took the lead for good with two runs in the fourth inning.  Megan Crockett singled to lead off the fourth and scored when Bree Mangelsen singled off Meyer to tie the game at 2-2.  Natalie Spooner was next and hit a sacrifice fly scoring Mangelsen who had advanced to third on a passed ball, to set the score at 3-2.

Meyer took the loss after pitching six innings.  She struck out seven and walked two batters.  Alyssa Livesay was the winning pitcher after seven innings of work.  Livesay struck out two and walked no Durant batter.

Durant out-hit Northeast Goose Lake 7 to 6.  Meyer was 2-for-3 and Aubrey Werthmann and Ruby Kappeler each had doubles.  Hannah Happ, Cathy Ralfs and Haleigh Carnes also had hits in the game.

Six different Rebels collected hits in the game.  Mangelsen, Spooner and Makenna McDonald all had hits and one RBI in the game.  Spooner and Cassidy DonDiego each had doubles for the Rebels.

Wildcats Pound Beavers In Game One, 12-5

WILTON — The Wildcats began the week ranked #4 in class 2A and traveled to rival Wilton last Monday for a RVC South doubleheader.  There, the two games were very exciting with each team claiming a win.  Durant won game one, 12-5 and Wilton won game two, 3-2.

I n game one, the Wildcats flexed their muscles and beat the Beavers 12-5 after a 5-run first inning to set the tone of the game.  Durant batted around in their order and used four hits to account for their five runs in the first inning.  Ruby Kappeler led off with a single and scored two batters later on a RBI single by Aubrey Werthmann.  Cathy Ralfs singled and later scored on an error to give Durant a 2-0 lead.  Next, Kamryn Meyer, Haleigh Carnes and Kelly Alexander all reached base to load the bases with two outs.  Mallory Warner then smashed a double to left centerfield, driving in all three runners to give Durant a 5-0 lead.  Wilton got out of the inning by getting Kira Schulte to ground out.

The Wildcats poured on four more runs in the top of the third inning to take a 9-0 lead.  Kappeler had a two-run single, Haleigh Carnes a RBI single and Kelly Alexander a RBI on a ground out in the inning.

Wilton finally got something going in the bottom of the third inning, sending seven players to the plate and scoring their first two runs of the game to chip into the Wildcat lead at 9-2.

The Wildcats tacked on two runs in the top of the sixth to put the score at 11-3.  Wilton scored once in the sixth to put the score at 12-4.  Each team would add a run in their half of the seventh inning to set the final at 12-5.

The Wildcats won their 13th straight ball game with the win.  Durant had 16 hits in the game.  Kappeler was 3-for-5 with 2 RBI’s and 3 stolen bases while Carnes was 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs and two runs scored.  Warner finished with three hits in four at-bats with a double and team high 4 RBI’s.  Ralfs had two hits and a double and Werthmann, Hannah Happ, Meyer, Alexander and Schulte each had hits.  Meyer and Carnes also drove in two runs.  The Wildcats stole six bases and walked four times in the game.

Meyer was the winning pitcher in the ballgame working seven innings, striking out six and allowing five runs.

Falloyn Grunder took the loss after starting and going 2 1/3 innings.  She gave up nine runs on six hits and struck out one.  Chloe Wells pitched 4 2/3 innings in relief and gave up three runs.

Wilton had 11 hits in the game led by Wells, Grunder and Alexis Maurer, each with two hit.  Karlie Schult, Amanda Fowler, Emily Lange, Kortney Drake and Kali Milder each had hits in the game.

Beavers Get First Durant Win Since 2011

The Beavers got a big victory over the state ranked Wildcats.  Game two saw the Wilton Beavers pick up their first win over Durant since July 5, 2011.  There, the Beavers won a 4-3 game over Durant at Wilton.  That night Paige Wheeler was the winning pitcher and had eight strikeouts and Carlee Grunder, Kelsie Dugan and Avery Carter each had two hits.  Leah Duffe had a home run and 3 RBI’s.

Durant scored the first runs of game two in the top of the second.  Kamryn Meyer led off the inning with a single and advanced to second on a Haleigh Carnes single and scored on Kelly Alexander’s double.  

Wilton responded with two runs of their own in the bottom of the inning.  The Beavers sent seven batters to the plate in the second and got their first two batters on base in Kortney Drake and Allison Bosten.  Both scored on a 2-run single by Alexis Maurer to give Wilton a 2-1 lead.

The lead didn’t last long as Durant tied the score at 2-2 in the top of the third on a RBI single by Cathy Ralfs that scored Ruby Kappeler who led off the third with a single of her own.

The 2-2 score held until the bottom of the seventh.  Falloyn Grunder led off with a double.  Taylor Garvin, pinch hitting for Kali Milder, flied out for the first out.  Alexis Maurer then singled in Grunder with the winning, walk-off hit.

Durant advanced a runner to third with one out in the fifth and didn’t score and were retired in order in the sixth.  

Falloyn Grunder rebounded from a tough start in game one to get the win in game two.  Grunder pitched all seven innings, scattering seven hits and striking out one batter.

Wilton had eight hits in the game, led by Maurer and Allison Bosten each with two hits.  Grunder, Amanda Fowler, Chloe Wells and Karlie Shulte each had hits.  Maurer drove in all three Beaver runs.

Jenna Lawson took the loss after pitching all seven innings.  She struck out three, walked no Beaver Batters and gave up three runs.  Ruby Kappler was 2-for-4 with a run scored while Aubrey Werthmann, Cathy Ralfs, Kamryn Meyer, Haleigh Carnes, Kelly Alexander and Kira Schult all had hits.  Alexander and Ralfs each had RBI’s and Werthmann and Alexander each reached base via a walk.