Hartington softball finishes second at league tournament

OSMOND — The Hartington 18-and-under softball program has continued making progress, which was on full display at its league tournament held over the weekend.

Pool play led to the elimination bracket as Hartington smashed Verdigre (14-2), held off Wausa (5-4) and dropped a 5-1 decision to Osmond in the first three games.

In the title game against Crofton, Hartington pitched and defended well, but fell short in a 2-0 decision to finish as the tournament runnerup.

“It was kind of like our first game against Osmond offensively; we just didn’t get many solid hits,” Hartington coach Brice Grutsch said. “There were lots of infield popups and slow-hit ground balls. Our defense was really good, though, and overall, I was pleased with the effort in the tournament.”

Earlier last week, Hartington fell 15-1 against Crofton, which Grutsch called the worst outing of the season, so the improvement over the course of a few days was evident.

The Hartington girls showed they’d gotten things back on track in a 10-3 win over Laurel two days later as Olivia Grutsch was dominant in the circle.

“I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how quick the group came together,” coach Grutsch said. “They are a group of girls from different towns and schools that don’t spend the entire school year playing together. That really helped us get ahead compared to last season. The quicker everyone gets on the same page and working together, the more successful you can be.”

Grutsch said several players have really stepped up.

“Alexys Hahne is not surprisingly doing really well, but she’s kind of a known commodity. Olivia (Grutsch) has put it together well enough to be a sound second pitcher so that’s been a nice surprise. The girl that I think has stepped up the most of all has been Hazel Hochstein.”

Grutsch said Hochstein has “improved by leaps and bounds in every area and has become an everyday starter at shortstop. We needed one more infielder to step up and she’s done a really good job.”

The 12U team had the week off, but the coach has had plenty of data to look through and he likes what he sees.

“Something I’ve been pleasantly surprised by on the 12’s is probably just the fact that I thought coming into the season I’d have an older team and ended up with a young team,” Grutsch said.

“So, I’ve been surprised by how successful we’ve been so far this season. A lot of times when you’re young, you spend more time learning, trying to get to the point where you can hit the ground running next season. Not the case with this group. It shows how hard those girls work.”

Players who have really stepped up have included Kiersten Hans and Ella Kelly, Grutsch said.

“Both are pitchers and also play third base. I knew what I’d get out of Kiersten, but she’s exceeded my expectations. She’s a high-level softball player,” he said. “Ella has come far enough in her first year in 12’s to be a quality second pitcher for us. That’s helped a lot.”

Also: The 10U girls fell in two contests against Wausa and Laurel. The 8U girls also played the same two teams, but no results were made available. The 6U result against Wausa was not reported.