Colby-Abby softball drops 2023 opener

The Colby-Abbotsford softball team held their first game of the season last Friday, hosting the Gilman Pirates at their home field in Colby. The Pirates proved difficult to deal with and the coop lost 11-1 in six innings.

Finding the third out on defense was problematic early for the co-op in their first Cloverbelt East contest of 2023. The Colby-Abby squad managed to secure the first two outs without any runs scored in the first four innings of the game, but only in one of those innings did the Pirates not end up scoring.

Gilman took a lead in the first inning without picking up a hit. A walk would lead to a stolen base and then the runner would advance to third on a fielders’ choice. With two outs, the runner would come in to score on a pitch that found its way to the backstop, giving the Pirates an early 1-0 advantage.

Colby-Abby responded in the bottom of the inning. Neveah Treankler put herself on base for the co-op and worked her way around the bases before being driven home on a clutch hit from Kylie Orth with two outs. Orth’s RBI hit off of Gilman’s Tatum Weir tied the game at 1-1, but the home team’s threat was ended in the next at bat.

Errors committed by the Colby-Abby defense would continue both the second and third innings for the Pirates, allowing them to build a solid lead over the co-op.

While starting pitcher Tatum Bargender induced playable balls from the visiting lineup, the co-op could not take advantage. Two hits from Gilman in the second with two outs would drive in two more runs and they would similarly score two runs off a double in the third, also with two outs. All three run-scoring at bats came to the plate because of errors earlier in those innings.

Bargender and the defense made it through the fourth inning unscathed and it looked like they might make a push of their own in the bottom half of the frame. A double from Josie Higley and a single from Harrison Schmitt gave the co-op a scoring opportunity with runners at first and third with two outs. Unlike the success the Pirates had found with two outs thus far, Colby-Abby was not able to take advantage as Weir was able to navigate the next at-bat and secure the final out of the inning without giving up a run.

Another run in the fifth for the Pirates made the game 6-1 and a huge five-run sixth put the game out of reach, giving Gilman an 11-1 lead.

Colby-Abby tried to keep the game alive in the bottom of the inning, threatening by getting leadoff hits from McKinley Klabon and Bargender. The pair put themselves on second and third with no outs, but the co-op was unable to get them home, resulting in the game ending in the sixth with the final out still leaving them down by 10 runs.

While the team was able to sneak in a game on Friday, their early season schedule has been full of postponements and cancellations due to weather and field conditions. Their follow-up game in Gilman that was scheduled for this Thursday, as well as a matchup with Loyal-Greenwood on Friday have already been canceled, making their next potential game next Tuesday, where they will have to go on the road for a double-header against a tough Neillsville squad. The first game of the series is set to start at 4:00 p.m.