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Kate Blankenship
The MCC Rebels were on the road Monday to play a makeup game with the Wolverines of Mountain Lake Area Comfrey. With both teams having experienced players coming back from a season ago, one expected a close contest and it was. The Rebels beat the Wolverines last year twice, both in games that came down to the very end. Monday was no different.
Thea Schneider got the start for the Rebels and her defense helped her out of one tough inning after another in the first five innings of the game. The Wolverines scored single runs in the second and fourth innings as the Rebels built a 7-2 lead. The Rebels began to struggle in the sixth and seventh inning as the Wolverines were able to put runners on base like they did early in the game. They were also able to score runs, as they took advantage of mistakes and they were able to get key hits. Ella Dockter drove in key runs in the four-run sixth inning and the game tieing runs in the bottom of the seventh. The Wolverines scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the 8th inning on a base hit by Jaci Tollefson.
The Rebels have been a that scores the majority of their runs later in the game. MCC failed to score in the first three innings of the game but came alive with a run in the fourth inning after a Zoey Iverson Triple. In the 5th, the Rebels batted around the order, scoring 6 runs including a homerun by Mary Lou McNab. The Rebels, in the top half of the seventh, scored two runs, turning a couple of walks into runs with hits by Abby Loosbrock and a double by McNab. It just wouldn’t be enough, as the Rebels came up short in extra innings 10 to 9.
Thea Schneider took the loss in the windy game in Mountain Lake. The Rebels have had moments of great defense this season while the bats overall have been off to a slow start. The bats began to wake up on Monday but the defense made too many mistakes, allowing extra chances to score especially late in the game. Mary Lou McNab led the Rebels with a homerun, double, and a pair of walks. Zoey Iverson had a pair of hits including a triple. Elyse Paulzine had a key double with runners on for the Rebels. Up next for MCC will be a home game with HLOF on Tuesday.
