~by Taylor Teays for the Scranton Journal
The Greene County softball team saw plenty of action last week, playing eight games resulting in seven wins. As of June 17, the Rams are 13-5 on the season and are tied with Saydel for the Heart of Iowa Conference lead with an 9-1 mark.
The Rams kicked off the action right away on Monday, June 12, hosting South Hamilton, winning 10-0 in five innings. There were 11 Greene County hits, with a double from Sara Morlan, a triple from Olivia Shannon and a homerun from Emma Hoyle. On the field, there were 15 putouts with two errors on 21 total chances. Hoyle was on the mound, allowing four hits with one hit batter and four strikeouts.
Tuesday was another home game for the Rams, hosting Roland-Story, taking a 10-6 win. The Rams had 14 hits, including two doubles from Emma Stream. Alexa Peters walked, with Stream and Chanlyn Cunningham each reaching on an error. For fielding, the Rams had 21 putouts, 15 from catcher Stream, with three team errors on 29 total chances. Hoyle threw 134 pitches, allowing four hits with two walks and 16 strikeouts.
On Wednesday, the Rams traveled to Prairie City to face PCM, winning 3-2. The Rams took the early lead, scoring a run in the first. They sealed the deal with two runs in the fifth. The Mustangs scored a run in the fifth and tried to rally, scoring another run in the seventh, but the Ram defense held strong. There were 10 Greene County hits, with a double from Hoyle. The Rams had 21 putouts, with nine from Stream and three from Teeples on first. Hoyle was back on the mound, allowing two hits with one hit and three strikeouts.
The Rams traveled to Fort Dodge on Thursday, where they defeated St Edmond 8-1. Greene County powered five runs across the plate in the fifth on their way to the win. There were eight hits, with a triple from Morlan. Stream walked, Hoyle reached on an error, and three Rams struck out. On the field, there were 21 putouts with no errors on 29 total chances. Hoyle threw 42 pitches, striking out seven with four hits and one walk.
A tournament on Saturday in Denison brought the Rams two more games, the first a 1-0 win over Denison-Schleswig. There were no runs in the game until the eighth inning, with the Rams able to get shortstop Becca Anderson home after Cunningham reached on an error. The team had two hits, both singles, one from Hoyle and one from Teeples. The Rams had 24 putouts on the field, 16 from Stream. Hoyle allowed one hit with 15 strikeouts in a stellar performance.
The only Ram loss for the week came in the second tournament game, where Greene County fell 8-1 against Glenwood. There were two hits from the Rams, a single from Cunningham and a double from Stream. Two Rams walked, with Shannon and Teeples reaching on errors. Eighth grader Alaina Heard was on the mound, throwing 56 pitches, allowing eight hits with three walks, one hit batter and six strikeouts.
Class 3A statistics – After last week’s action, four Rams are looking at ranked stats in Class 3A. Hoyle is ranked 19th for homeruns in 3A, putting her second in the Heart of Iowa Conference, with four homeruns this season. She is also second in the conference for her earned run average, 0.80. As pitcher, Hoyle is ranked sixth in 3A for wins, being credited with 12, earning her second in the conference. She is also second in conference for strikeouts with 145, putting her fourth overall in 3A.
Shannon is ranked sixth in 3A for stolen bases, putting her first in the conference, with 23 stolen bases so far this season. With 23 singles, Peters is ranked fourth in 3A, second in conference. Stream leads the conference with putouts at 155 this season, putting her third in 3A.
