The Fastpitch Chronicle

At Diamond of Champions this afternoon the Poynette Pumas' softball team took down Lakeside Lutheran 10-0 in a five-inning mercy rule game.

Behind stellar pitching from sophomore righthander HollylLowenberg and a 12-hit attack including three doubles and two home runs the Pumas boosted their record to 2-0 and won the program's 55th straight win.

Lowenberg started out on fire in the first inning by striking out the side. She would go on to seven of the first nine batters and finish with 10 strikeout. She allowed a short single that dropped just outside the infield dirt in the fourth inning.

At the plate the Pumas started fast and were aided by an error on Warrior shortstop Nora Statz that instead of being an inning ending double play wound up costing Lakeside six unearned runs.

The inning started with a ground out to third off the bat of Ashia Meister followed by a walk to Abby Klink. Lowenberg then hit the ball to Statz. Sophomore Brooke Steinhorst then singled to score Klink and senior Peyton Gest answered with a ball to the base of the fence in leftcenter driving in Lowenberg. Sophomore Laken Wagner then singled to score two and Alli Ripp singled to left before Maysa Clemens sliced a single to right scoring two more. Another error by Statz took place when Meister batted for the second time in the inning before Klink grounded out to second.

Leading 6-0 Lowenberg went back to work in the circle. She recorded three more strikeouts on just 11 pitches.

The Pumas failed to score in the second although Gest drew a free pass just before Wagner lined a ball into the gap in rightcenter. Gest rounded third and headed for home but Wagner, trying to stretch a single into a double was thrown out before Gest could get to the plate.

Lowenberg had another masterful inning in the third, throwing seven pitches to get two more strikeouts after a first pitch ground out to Steinhorst at shortstop. In the Lakeside fourth Lowenberg tallied 10 pitches on a strikeout, allowed the only hit that Lakeside would get and got a flyout and pop up to end the inning.

The Pumas tacked three runs in the bottom of the fourth when Klink launched a towering blast to the corner in leftfield. The ball was high so the wind blew it from right to left. It struck the mesh wing on the yellow foul pole and came back inside the outfield fence but of course was a home run. After a Lowenberg groundout to short Steinhorst worked the Lakeside pitcher for a walk and Gest launched a missle to the gap in leftcenter that banged off the middle of the scoreboard for a two-run blast. Later in that inning Ripp would single and third sacker Peyton Kingsland who had lined out sharply to third in her previous at bat doubled to left field.

Lowenberg's fifth included just nine pitches wiht a ground out to Kingsland at third and two strikeouts to end the game.

Leading hitters in the game for the Pumas were Gest who was 2x2 with a walk a double, home run and three rbi, Steinhorst with a 2x3 game , Wagner who went 2x3 and Clemens who went 2x3 with a double.

The Pumas travel to DeForest tomorrow to take on the Division 1 Norskies at the new city owned complex west of town along the interstate.