In their season-opening game March 28, the Bearcat softball team came away with two wins at home against the Ellis Railers, 9-8 and 18-8.

As eager as they were to kick off the season, the Cats didn’t start as strong as they hoped. They allowed the Railers a 5-point first inning and then were unable to turn around and score any points themselves.

After the first inning, the Bearcats cleaned up their defense and were able to keep the Railers to 1 point in the next four innings.

Fielding, however, was not enough to win the game when the Cats were down 6-1 in the fifth inning. They needed to make their bats come alive, and beginning in the sixth inning, they did. The team activated their bats and were able to bat around the bases.

At third in the batting order, Makenna Haas smashed a homerun over centerfield. With juniors Peyton Coonrod and Emma Moore on base, the homerun brought in 3 points for the Cats.

With bases cleared and an enthusiastic team, Greta Klein stepped up to the plate at fourth in the lineup. Picking up where Haas left off, Klein cranked a hit over centerfield as well, and added another run to the scoreboard.

By the end of the exciting inning, the Cats began to close the score gap, now down 8-5 to the Railers.

The seventh and final inning of the game was crucial to the Cats’ success. After the thrill of the previous inning, they had to make this one count. As the home team, the Bearcats were able to bat last. If they could stop the Railers from scoring then score 4 points, the game would be over.

In the field, everyone made sure to make the correct plays and stop the Railers from scoring. After succeeding at this goal, it was time for the Bearcats to bat.

The Cats stepped up to bat with no worry in the seventh inning. They took the challenge and got on base. After they scored 3 points to tie the game 8-8 with two runners on base, Paityn Tenbrink was up to bat. Tenbrink had a perfect batting average for the day.

“One of the biggest things is always stepping in the batter’s box with a good mindset, saying to myself, ‘You can hit it!’” Tenbrink said.

Ellis knew if Tenbrink had a hit, the Bearcats would score and win the game. To avoid this risk, the Railers intentionally

“One of the biggest things is always stepping in the batter’s box with a good mindset, saying to myself, ‘You can hit it!’”

Paityn Tenbrink Junior walked her and loaded the bases in an attempt to get a forced out at home.

However, with bases loaded, Lexi West was walked, which sent in a runner to seal the Bearcat victory, with a final score of 9-8.

The Cats used the excitement of the previous victory to fuel the second game of the double- header and didn’t go a single inning without scoring.

By capitalizing on the Railers’ errors, the Cats scored 7 points in the first two innings without letting Ellis score.

By the fourth inning, the Bearcats could not be stopped. At the end of the fourth inning, they were up 18-5.

In the fifth inning, which ended up being the last, the Railers scored 3 points, which was not enough to tighten the score gap. After five innings, if one team is winning by at least 10 points, it results in a run rule. Since they should have batted last and were already up by 10, the Bearcats did not bat in the fifth inning.

The final score was 18-8, Bearcats.

Ellsworth vs. Beloit

The Bearcats lost to the Beloit Trojans in both games March 31, 12-3 and 13-1.

The biggest challenge the Cats faced from the first pitch was their batting. Trojans’ pitcher Chloe Odle provided a constant battle for the Bearcats to try to get on base.

The first inning was the only one led by the Bearcats. They scored 2 while only giving up 1 to Beloit.

However, with the constant struggle of getting on base, bats were slow for the rest of the game.

By the fifth inning, the Trojans scored 11 more points, while the Bearcats only managed to score 1.

Pitching 64 strikes out of a total 90 pitches for the game, Odle was able to shut down the Cats’ bats. The Trojans won with a final score of 12-3.

Without the energy to move them into the next game, the Bearcats could not ignite any momentum in the second game.

Along with the batting slump, the Cats began to make errors in the field that allowed the Trojans to continue to score. The Bearcats did not score at all in the first four innings, but gave up 11 to Beloit.

With Beloit up by 11 points, the Bearcats were at risk of being run ruled by the Trojans in the fifth inning. If they could not close the score deficit to under 10 points, the game would be over. However, the Trojans were able to score another 2 points in the fifth inning, and the Bearcats only scored 1. The game ended in a Beloit victory by run rule. The final score was 13-1.

The Cats’ next action will be at Ellinwood April 10.