Stuner nearly perfect in three-inning blowout win

Gifted with 18 walks and four hit batters, the Gilman Pirates strolled to an easy 20-0 softball win at Owen-Withee Tuesday afternoon.

Sophomore pitcher Scarlett Stuner fired a three-inning no-hitter, facing the minimum nine hitters. She hit the first batter she faced, then speared a line drive from the next batter and doubled off the runner and retired the final seven Blackhawks she saw with three strikeout.

The win kept Gilman unbeaten in Eastern Cloverbelt Conference play at 3-0. The Pirates are one-half game behind the 4-0 Columbus Catholic Dons. Gilman heads to Marshfield Tuesday to face the Dons in what figures to be a pivotal doubleheader in the conference title chase.

With all of the free passes, Gilman (3-4 overall) didn’t have many opportunities to swing the bat, but the Pirates got a few. Abby Chaplinski had a hit and drove in three runs in the win, as did Kenlyn Kroeplin. Danielle Mann and Kayleigh James both had a hit and two runs batted in. Lila Allamiraino also had a hit.

The Blackhawks dropped to 0-3, 1-8 with the loss.

The Pirates have a couple of chances to add to their win total before Tuesday’s twinbill with Columbus. Gilman hosts winless Colby-Abbotsford today, Thursday, and then hosts Spencer on Friday. The Pirates earned double-digit wins over both last week.

Gilman’s home game this past Friday with Loyal-Greenwood was postponed to May 10. Now the first matchup between the teams will take place May 3 in

Greenwood.

Lancers 14, Gilman 3

Gilman held a 2-1 lead through two and a half innings Monday, but a disastrous bottom of the third doomed them in a 14-3 non-conference loss to Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran.

The Lancers turned seven Gilman errors into 11 runs in the bottom of the third inning to build a 12-2 lead. The Pirates extended the game into the sixth inning before a two-run home run ended the game.

Mann knocked in James with an RBI single to give Gilman its 2-1 lead before things went south. Five straight errors with one out in the bottom of the third opened the floodgates.

“It just kind of snowballed from there,” Gilman head coach Brian Phelps said. “While we mature as a team, one of the things we have to figure out is how to not let one error lead to two. We need to learn how to stay poised in those situations.”

The positive aspect of the game was how well Gilman did offensively against Immanuel’s strong senior pitcher Hannah Kazemba. The Pirates collected eight hits. James was two for four, Kroeplin was one for two while drawing two walks and scoring twice, Mann was two for three and Allie Olynick was two for three with a triple. Stuner and Mylie Stephens also had hits.

“That was a positive that our three sophomores all had hits from the bottom of our order,” Phelps said. “We are getting better with our pitch selection.”

Mann struck out two and walked five in the pitching circle.

Immanuel Lutheran improved to 4-2 at the time.