Too many errors and too many selfish at bats. During a week in which the Malcolm softball coaches felt like four wins were a realistic possibility, multiple miscues — at the plate and in the field – turned into just one win and four losses.
The lone victory came at the end of a Sept. 14 triangular during which the Malcolm bats came alive as the Clippers blew out Raymond Central, 12-1. The home team put up nine runs on nine hits as 15 batters came to the plate in the first inning. Samantha Back and Morgan Tiedeman combined for four hits with two doubles and five runs batted in during the prolific inning.
“That inning showed what we know these girls are capable of,” Malcolm coach Jay Babb said. “We need to see more of that kind of production. We’ve been too inconsistent up and down the lineup. Hopefully, we can build on what we did in that inning.”
In the four-inning, run-rule shortened game, eight Malcolm players hit safely and all nine batters reached base at least once.
The day began with Malcolm giving Tekamah-Herman its second win of the season in a messy 8-6 affair. After jumping out to 4-1 lead in the first inning, the Clippers committed four errors, accompanied by even more mental mistakes to allow five runs, giving the Tigers a lead they did not relinquish.
“If you’re going to compete and stay in close games, you have to make plays,” Babb said. “We’re struggling to perform under pressure and the errors become contagious.
“We’re still selfish at the plate. Too often we don’t make adjustments in the box to move runners.”
There were some bright spots on offense including Tiedeman. From the leadoff spot, the sophomore was 3-for-3 with two triples and a sacrifice fly. Ary Myers and Mikiah Witzel each had two hits in the game.
With junior pitcher Shaylee Heidtbrink battling a knee injury, Myers’ load in the circle has increased. The sophomore slinger tossed 28 of the team’s 29 innings last week.
“I couldn’t be more proud of her effort,” Babb said. “Her workload is always a concern. We have a lot of strategizing to do with the schedules over the next couple weeks to manage our pitching.”
The Clippers lost a pair of one-run games on the road, falling 4-3 at Central City on Sept. 12 after opening the week with a 2-1 defeat to NEN at Pender. Behind a two-hitter from Karrigan Henrichs, Beatrice disposed of Malcolm, 7-0 on Sept. 10 in Malcolm.
The Clippers (7-13) have a lighter week in terms of games, but not necessarily competition. Defending state champions Ashland-Greenwood (10-7) visits Malcolm Sept. 16 before the Clippers go to Seward for a Sept. 17 triangular with Fairbury (7-10) and the Bluejays (8-6).
AGHS downed the Clippers 17-4. Malcolm defeated Fairbury 11-2 before losing to Seward 10-2.
