Their best ball has gotten even better. Coming off a week where the Malcolm softball team was riding high after a win over top-ranked Bishop Neumann, the Clippers rolled in the the postseason and came out looking like the hottest team in the state.
In the Oct. 8 District C-5 final, No. 3 Malcolm jumped on Arlington early in the first game of the best-of-three series and never let up on the way to a four-inning, 11-1 victory.
The Clippers scored five runs on five hits in a second inning that was capped off by a two-RBI double by Alanea Babb.
The game ended in the bottom of the fourth when, with no outs and a six-run lead, Ava Helms hit a grand slam.
“At our best, this offense is scary good,” Malcolm coach Travis Meyer said. “The ball has to look like a beach ball to Ava right now.”
Malcolm picked up where it left off in game two by scoring four runs in the second inning when Abby Cantrell, Keira Farritor, Cora Schweitzer and Kiana Dostal hit consecutive singles.
Farritor had one of her most productive games of the year as the sophomore went 3-for-3 while driving in five runs.
“Kiera coming on is huge for us,” Meyer said. “Having another power type kid at the back end of the lineup keeps our offense flowing.”
After scoring four runs in each of the fourth and fifth innings, Malcolm, with a 10-run lead, was three outs away from ending the game. An error in the infield gave the Eagles life as the bases got loaded for Hailey Brenn to hit a grand slam. Britt Nielsen followed up with a solo shot to make it 14-9 heading to the sixth.
The Clippers scored three more runs over the next two innings to win 17-9 and clinch a berth at this week’s state tournament.
Helms went 2-for-4 with a double and a two-run homer while Cantrell went 2-for-3 with three RBIs.
In addition to a stellar day on defense, Alyssa Fortik was 3-for-5 with a double and two runs batted in.
“Alyssa continuously does stuff with a glove that amazes me,” Meyer said. “Knowing she’s back there, definitely helps our pitchers relax and challenge batters.”
Malcolm hosted the Oct. 4 C-5 subdistrict and had no trouble with Wilber-Clatonia in a three-inning, 13-1 win in which Helms homered and drove in four runs.
The win sent the Clippers to a finals matchup against Aquinas Catholic. It was tight early on with Malcolm leading 2-0 through two innings. Things got out of hand in the top of the third when the Clippers sent 19 batters to the plate and scored 15 runs to take the game, 17-0.
In the circle, Abbi Arroyo and Emma Brown each picked up two wins last week. Arroyo struck out seven while Brown fanned six. Arroyo allowed just two hits in her win against Arlington.
“I’m very pleased with how our pitchers are coming on,” Meyer said. “This is the best Abbi has been all year and Emma, well all she did is beat the number one team in the state.”
Malcolm (23-9) rides a 10-game win streak into this week’s state championships. The Clippers go in as the No. 5 seed and will face No. 4 Yutan/Mead (27-5) Wednesday, Oct. 13, at 2 p.m. at the Smith Softball Complex in Hastings.
“We have to go in with a positive mental attitude,” Meyer said. “We just put 28 runs on Arlington in two games. When Yutan played them last week, they split with them and only scored six runs.
“We need to go in knowing we have what it takes.”
