broke it open with a ….

broke it open with a 13-run fourth.

“We can’t commit eight errors when our pitcher is throwing strikes,” Phelps said. “That’s really the bottom line. We committed six errors with two outs. Once we started booting the ball around, we didn’t quit. It was unacceptable.”

Gilman stranded five runners in the first three innings as Laker pitcher Kianna Kidder got key outs when she needed them. The Pirates avoided the shutout in the fourth when Vick reached on a oneout double and scored on Bailey Angell’s sacrifice fly to right off reliever Alexis McCracken.

Duellman, Gracie Tallier and James had hits for Gilman.

Weir pitched and allowed 20 hits. She struck out two and walked six. Kidder had two doubles and three RBIs for the Lakers, Candace Skattebo was three for five with three RBIs and Kylee Dahlstrom and Haley Betts were both three for five.

A five-run rally in the bottom of the third inning broke a scoreless tie and propelled the Pirates to an 8-3 ECC win over Colby-Abbotsford on Friday.

Four straight hits off Colby-Abbotsford starter Kya Viegut sparked the game-changing rally. Jayda Rosemeyer got it started with a base hit. Ava Warner got a base knock as did Duellman. James knocked in two runs with a single. Hendricks’ sacrifice resulted in two runs scoring.

The Pirates tacked on two more in the fourth to go up 7-1. The visitors got two in the fifth before Gilman closed the scoring with a single run in the bottom half.

Vick was two for three with an RBI double and two runs scored. James was one for two with her big two-run singles, drew two walks and scored twice. Weir was one for two with a double and two walks. Addy Warner went the distance, allowing six hits, one walk and two earned runs while striking out 14.

An 8-2 win

A five-run fourth inning pushed the Pirates past host Columbus Catholic 8-2 Thursday in Gilman’s first Eastern Cloverbelt Conference game of the spring.

The big inning overturned a 1-0 deficit that had stood since the bottom of the first inning. Addy Warner made it stand as she struck out 14 batters, didn’t walk anyone and allowed just three hits.

Hailey Zimmerman’s groundout drove in Sam Casperson, who had doubled to right and stolen third base, to give the Dons their early lead. The tide started to turn, however, with a one-out single by James in the top of the fourth. Hendricks reached on an error. Weir lined a base hit to score James and tie it at 1-1.

After Vick walked to load the bases, Angell lined a two-run double down the