14-and-under team competes at state tournament

HASTINGS — The 14-and-under Osmond girls' softball team played in the state tournament July 16-18. For Osmond's first game on Friday, the team played Seward Illusion and lost 9 to 5.

We came out slow and nervous. Once we shook the jitters we came alive and Seward started to fall apart. We were just an inning too late! We scored all of our runs in the last two innings.

Player stats: Carri Kumm played left field and went 1-3 (1 hit for 3 at bats). Kenzie Vaughn played second and went 1-3.

Callie Hoffman played catcher and was 1-3. Bri Kumm was short stop and was 1-3. Callie and Bri came so close to getting three runners out stealing second base.

Ava Reikofski was 0-3 and third base. All three of Ava's at-bats had at least five foul balls each and went to full counts! They were great atbats that unfortunately didn’t end with a hit.

Kaydance Maertins pitched four innings and had five strike outs. She was 2-2 with one of them being an RBI double to the fence.

Julie Kumm was 0-2 and played center. Kaleigh Miller played first and went 2-2. Charlie Pittet was our designated player (only hit) and was 0-2.

Alexa Aschoff was our flex (only fielded) and played right field. She was a ball magnet with several hits to right field to her.

Olivia Barta pitched the last inning to five batters with one strike out. Piper Hoffman was our base runner and pinch ran for the pitcher.

On Saturday, the girls played O'Neill Sparks and lost 6 to 3.

Carri played left field and went 2-4 with one stolen base. Kenzie played right field and went 4-4 with three steals. Callie caught and went 3-4. Bri played second and went 3-4. Ava played third and went 1-2.

Kaydance pitched and went 0-2 with three strike outs. Julie played center and went 1-2 as a slap hitter and had one stolen base.

Olivia played short stop and went 0-2. Kaliegh played first and went 0-3. Piper and Charlie were the pinch runners for our pitcher and catcher.

In their third game, Osmond played Crete Diamonds and lost 10-9.

The girls came out ready to win and keep playing. We scored four runs in the first inning, one each in the second and third, and three in the fourth to try and keep the lead.

Being the away team, they got to bat last and unfortunately ended the game with a stolen base home. Callie laid out and dove for the ball to try to stop her but was just a couple inches short.

Stats for the game: Olivia pitched and had one strike out. She went 2-3. Piper ran for her and had two steals. Kenzie played left and went 1-3. Callie caught and went 2-3. Carri ran for Callie and had one steal.

Bri played second and went 2-2. Ava played short stop and went 1-2. Kaydance was the designated player and went 2-2 with one double.

Julie played center and went 1-2 as a slap hitter. Charlie played third and went 0-2. Kaliegh played first and went 2-2. Alexa played right field as our flex fielder.

Over all, we improved from last year’s state tournament. Every game they learned from mistakes, made adjustments and fought harder the next game.

That is everything a coach can ask for. These girls have been a blast to coach. They are the most fun, hardworking and positive girls on and off the field.

It’s been a good summer with them and I can’t wait to see the progress we carry from this year to next.

Regular Season Play

On Tuesday, June 29, the Crofton score for the 12-and-under girls was 6-5, with Crofton taking the win. The 14-and-under team won 13 to 7.

The Verdigre scores for Thursday, July 1, are 12s lost 7 to 5, and 14s won 7 to 6.