The Fastpitch Chronicle

Athens 9, @ Chequamegon 6
With two all-conference pitchers squaring off in the circle, hits and runs were expected to be at a premium when the Athens and Chequamegon High School softball teams battled on Friday, April 10, at the Park Falls Athletic Complex. When the smoke cleared 24 hits and 15 runs later, Athens got a leg up in the Marawood North Conference race with a 9-6 victory. Athens rapped 13 hits to 11 for Chequamegon and strung four hits in a row to lead off the pivotal four-run fifth inning. The win went to Kyncaide Diedrich, the reigning Div. 4 state player of the year and three-time MNC North player of the year, who walked three and struck out five. Emily Mader led off the Chequamegon first inning with a double and scored on Megan Mader’s ground out. A two-run homer by Kaitlin Felzkowski  put Athens on top in the second inning. The Screaming Eagles tied things up in their half of the second on Kenzi Dane’s double and a two-out  RBI single by Abby Lee. Athens’  Emily Czech rapped a two-run double in the third and the Blue Jays added an unearned run in the fourth to lead 5-2. A triple by Dane and RBI double by Korrie Herbst trimmed it to 5-3 after four complete. Athens’ four-spot in the fifth was the back-breaker. Chequamegon inched closer on Morgan Hilgart’s two-run home in the fifth and Dane’s second double and fourth hit of the game drove in the Screaming Eagles’ final tally in the seventh. Emily Mader was 3-for-4 for the Screaming Eagles, who had six different players break into the hit column.