Abby/Colby softball wins first game of Kniefl era

It didn’t take long for the Abbotsford/ Colby softball co-op to deliver the first victory of the Laura Kniefl era. And when they did deliver, they did it big.

Kniefl, who takes over from Al Zettler and his years long tenure as head coach, was all smiles as her players bruised the bats to the tune of a 16-9 victory over Rib Lake at home on Monday night.

“It’s really exciting. We took a picture to commemorate the time and it’s definitely a good feeling to get that first one,” Kniefl said afterwards.

The win was the perfect remedy to the co-op’s 0-4 start. Abby/Colby has struggled to get runs on the board through its first four games, dropping its home and season opener to Regis 1-11 on Thursday, April 29.

A 15-3 loss to Edgar followed, as did a 1-16 and 0-10 loss to Amherst on a Saturday, May 1 double-header at the Woodside Sports Complex in Mauston.

Through all those losses, the co-op made mental notes of what had to change and what needed to be better, and Kniefl said that played a huge role in Monday’s victory over Rib Lake.

“There was a lot more communication from our previous game, so it was nice to see,” Kniefl said. “ It was also nice to see those seniors step up and do a nice job and lead the team to this win.”

The co-op needed that leadership in the early goings of their non-conference match-up with the Redmen. Rib Lake took a 5-2 lead into the bottom of the second inning. Things looked as grim as the weather for the co-op.

Abby/Colby shrugged off the slow start, and rallied to take the lead at the bottom of the second. Alea Graff, Kya Viegut, Brooklyn Filtzkowski, Josie Higley and Kylie Orth all rounded the bases to give the co-op a 7-6 lead.

A run by Kylie Smazal in the third, and a pair of runs by Catie Clement and Emma Oelrich in the fourth made it a 10-6 game at the bottom of the fifth.

Rib Lake put two more runs on the board, but Abby/Colby closed the door with a six run flurry in the sixth to seal the deal for the victory.

Emma Peavey pitched five innings for the win and had two hits, Graff hit a double and triple. Viegut had a double. Clement had a single. Higley hit two singles.

“A lot of times we pull our heads,” Kniefl said about her team’s performance in the batter’s box. “Today I think they were able to zone in on what was going on and put the bat on the ball.”