The MCC Rebels boarded a Ludolph Brothers bus and headed to Wabasso for their first two games of the season this past weekend. The Rebels like all spring sports teams have battled mother nature and have fought a losing battle but on Saturday with some sunshine and some dry fields, the Rebels took to a softball field for the first time this season with mixed results.
The Rebels opened the season with the always tough Wabasso Rabbits. The Rabbits make life difficult with their speed on the base paths and their aggressive bunting really tests a defense. The Rebels struggled with defense in the first two innings of the game. The Rabbits scored all 15 of their runs in the first two innings with four runs coming in the first inning and 11 runs in the second. Wabasso only scored 3 earned runs in the first inning the next 12 runs scored were unearned based on Rebel miscues and errors. Anna Frank scored 3 runs for the Rabbits as did Sara Carlson. The Rabbits would fail to score a run in the final two innings as the Rebels settled down on defense and made plays without making mistakes or committing errors as they did in the first two innings.
With the ups and downs in the field hurting the Rebels MCC also had great moments at the plate mixed in with key errors on the base paths. MCC started the game with 2 straight hits but both players would later be thrown out at the plate on separate plays. The Rebels did hit the ball extremely well against Wabasso as they would collect 13 hits including four doubles in the game. MCC would score a pair of runs in the second inning Zoey Iverson would drive in a run with a double and Abby Loosbrock would plate another run with a single. MCC would score a run in the 4th inning as Thea Schneider would single and come around on a pair of groundouts and another double by Iverson. The Rebels would put four more runs on the board in the 5th but it could have been more as two runners were thrown out on the base paths. Schneider and Mary Lou McNab had back-to-back doubles to help drive in the runs but it wasn’t enough as the Rebels lost 15 to 7.
Thea Schneider took the loss for the Rebels. She pitched all four innings allowing 3 earned runs, on six hits, and six walks. Schneider did strike out three. Once the Rebels settled down on defense and got into the flow of the game their production was much better than early in the game. Atalie Rosenbrook led the Rebels with 3 hits in the game but four other Rebels had two hits. Zoey Iverson had two doubles and 2 RBI’s in the game. Thea Schneider in her first varsity game had a single and a double and drove in 2 runs. Abby Loosbrock and Mary Lou McNab had two hits and an RBI each. The Rebels in total finished with 13 hits but only scored seven runs which were partly to be blamed for poor baserunning which cost the Rebels at the very least three runs. The Rebels would learn a lot from the first two innings of the game as they would get ready for game two against Redwood Valley.
After struggling in the first two innings of the season against Wabasso the Rebels settled down and finished the game strong. MCC wouldn’t get much of a rest as they quickly turned around to play Redwood Valley in their final game of the day on Saturday. MCC made some small changes to the batting order and the lineup as they prepared to take on the Cardinals hoping to bounce back in game 2.
Mary Lou McNab got the start in the circle for the Rebels and the junior pitched the best game of her career at any level. She didn’t walk a single batter in 7 innings and only allowed a handful of hits. The Cardinals did start the game with a run which came on a dropped ball by one of the Rebels outfielders followed by a stolen base and a single to score a run. It would be the only run the Rebels gave up. McNab was consistent striking out 9 hitters on the way to the Rebels’ wins.
The Rebels matched Redwood Valley with a run in the first inning. Abby Loosbrock reached on an error and would later score on a passed ball. The Rebels would take three more innings to score again. MCC would add a pair of runs in the 5th inning. Zoey Iverson would reach on an error and would score on a wild pitch and Abby Loosbrock would reach on a fielder’s choice and then score Schneider single. MCC would rally for even more in the 6th inning. MCC would put up five more runs on the scoreboard and they did it with two outs starting with the bottom of the lineup. Morgan WInter, Zoey Iverson, and Karissa Hurd would get on base and the top of the order would drive them in with Schneiders two-run double doing the most damage. The Rebels would get the win 8-1 to even their record at 1-1 on the season.
McNab picked up the win for the Rebels pitching all 7 innings while allowing one unearned run on 5 hits while striking out 9. At the plate, the Rebels were led by Thea Schneider who was 2 of 4 at the plate and drove in 3 runs. Zoey Iverson was 1 for 2 at the plate with a double and an RBI. The Rebels have two games scheduled this week the first is against Edgerton on Tuesday and then the Rebels are scheduled to play Thursday at Heron Lake Okabena Fulda.
