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HASTINGS - The Hartington Heat 14U split four games in the Nebraska Class D Girls Fastpitch Softball Tournament July 11-13.
After a 10-day hiatus where the team didn’t play a game and had limited practice time due to Mother Nature and summer schedules, Heat coach, Brice Grutsch, witnessed his biggest fear when the tournament opened.
“It kind of played out how I was afraid it would,” the coach said. “Some rust in that first game cost us a game I thought we could win.”
Hartington lost its first game of the tournament, 6-5 to the Northwest Voyager 14U Black to wind up in the consolation bracket.
The Heat then got busy Saturday morning, shaking off the rust and advancing in the tournament with a couple of wins.
The Heat defeated the Waverly Heat Saturday morning 10-4 then took care of the Polk County Slammers 7-4.
Hadley Grutsch had a game at the plate against Slammers going 3-for-3, including a double and triple, scored twice and drove in one Hartington runner.
Vayda Lippert was 2-for-3 and had two RBI’s, Jocelyn Reyes and Brooklyn Peters each had a single in the game.
Nora Lange, Lippert, Ella Kelly, Kiersten Hans and Addie Simons all joined Grutsch in crossing the plate.
Hans got the win in the circle, allowing three hits while striking out seven Polk County batters.
In the win over Waverly; Lange, Grutsch and Peters each had a couple of hits. One of Grutsch’s hits was a double and Kelly hammered a double.
Lange scored three runs, Grutsch drove in three and Simons scored twice. Hans got the win in the circle scattering four hits over four innings of work as the game ended by the time limit in the fourth frame.
The Heat’s tournament ended Saturday evening with a 14-6 loss to Ponca. “By the third game coming through the consolation bracket we just didn’t have enough fight in us to get that win and make it to Sunday,” said coach Grutsch. “I truly thought we could finish somewhere in the top three.
“I really enjoyed the team this year, they are good kids. Told them we need to develop a little more pitching depth and I have to rethink how I handle softball as a whole. Practices will have to be on point and really productive because we are just so limited on them with how busy the girls are in the summer. I also need to figure out ways to simulate that type of environment, multiple games with pressure on them so it doesn’t feel so foreign to them. Play, learn, adjust and do a better job coaching. On to next year.”
Ponca defeated Hartington Heat 14U 14-6. PON 9 5 0 X X X X - 14 10 0 HAR141XXXX-620 WP: NA LP: Kiersten Hans. 1B: Vayda Lippert (H). 2B: Jocelyn Reyes. Hartington Heat 14U defeated Polk County Slammers 7-4. PCS1030XXX-430 HAR3040XXX-770 WP: Kiersten Hans LP: NA. 1B: Hadley Grutsch, Vayda Lippert (2), Jocelyn Reyes, Brooklyn Peters (H). 2B: Hadley Grutsch (H). 3B: Hadley Grutsch (H). Hartington Heat 14U defeated Waverly Heat Glassburner 14U 10-4. HAR1423XXX-1081 WAV0121XXX-440 WP: Kiersten Hans LP: NA 1B: Hadley Grutsch, Brooklyn Peters (2), Nora Lange (2), Natlee Hart (H); A. Kontos, G. Golliglee, K. George (W). 2B: Ella Kelly, Hadley Grutsch (H); G. Flohr (W). Northwest Voyager 14U Black defeated Hartington Heat 14U 6-5. HAR00221XX-560 NWV0240XXX-670
