Storm stay perfect in Florida with sharp pitching and timely hitting

CLERMONT, Fla. - The Simpson College softball team won its seventh and eighth consecutive games, remaining perfect on its trip to Florida with a pair of wins over Mount Saint Mary College and Carthage on Monday.

The Storm are now 8-2 on the year, tied for the second-best start to a campaign in the Brent Matthias era. The Storm got off to an 8-2 start last year, albeit not with an eight-game win streak, while the 2018 squad began 10-1.

Game One: Simpson 11, Mount Saint Mary College 0

Much like they have done in Florida, the Storm (8-2) got off to a quick lead. Kate Kriegel doubled off the fence and eventually scored on a wild pitch, giving the Storm a 1-0 lead after the first.

Taryan Barrick-Wessels got the start again, looking to continue her impressive stay in the Sunshine State. After a four-pitch walk to begin the game, Barrick-Wessels struck out the next three batters, settling in nicely.

The starting pitcher for the Knights (2-1), Bridget Morris, also found her groove after the first inning, as her and Barrick-Wessels navigated the second and third innings without much trouble. The Storm threatened in the top of the fourth, but a good play by the Knights second baseman got them out of the inning. In the bottom half of the frame, the Knights had runners on first and second with 0 out, but Barrick-Wessels struck out two batters for the first two outs. After the Knights loaded the bases, Caelynn Obelton made an impressive play at third base to end the inning.

The top of the fifth saw a controversial call given against Simpson, with Obleton attempting to steal second base. Obleton appeared to beat the tag, but was called out, which became even more important when the Storm loaded the bases with two outs, but had the Knights get out of the jam. The Knights loaded the bases again in the bottom of the fifth inning, but Karlie Hill made a nice play at first base with two outs to preserve the 1-0 lead.

Despite the defensive battle, the seventh inning was all but that for the Storm. Ashlyn Steen started the inning off with a base hit, while Ava Lowden and Alexis Ehlers both had RBI baseknocks to extend the Storm lead to 3-0. Pinch hitter Zoe Baker then launched a two-run double to blow the game open, making it a 5-0 lead for Simpson. The runs were not done yet either, as Obleton's infield hit scored another run to make it 6-0. Steen came up for the second time in the inning and smacked another two-run hit for the Storm, extending the lead to 8-0.

Kriegel continued her fantastic play at the plate with an RBI single to make it 9-0, followed by the exclamation point from Maddie Luderman in the form of a two-run home run. The Storm exploded for 10 runs in the inning and led 11-0, leaving tons of room for Barrick-Wessels to work with, as the senior pitcher put the finishing touches on a complete game shutout.

Game Two: Simpson 4, Carthage 1

A familiar theme followed suit for the Storm in game two, jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning. Steen, who had six hits across the two games, started the game with a leadoff single and then stole second, giving her 12 steals in 12 attempts on the season. After a single from Kriegel, Luderman drove in Steen with an RBI single to put the Storm on the board. Kriegel, now on third, doubled the Storm lead after an RBI groundout by Cameron Martin. After two walks from the Storm, Payton Ganzer ripped a two-run RBI single to give the Storm a 4-0 lead after the first inning.

Sierra Franklin got the start for the Storm, pitching extremely well over 4.1 innings of work. Franklin allowed five hits, with the only run that the Firebirds (1-3) scored coming from an error in the third inning, adding three strikeouts. Franklin got into a little trouble in the top of the fifth, with the Firebirds threatening to score, down 4-1 with the bases loaded and only one out. However, Makayla Bryant came in and only needed one pitch to get out of the jam, catching a liner back at her and then quickly rifling to third before the Carthage runner could get back to the base.

The Firebirds changed pitchers after the dominant first inning by the Storm, with Hana Adler coming in and providing good relief for Carthage, holding the Storm to four and a third scoreless innings and allowing just three hits. However, Bryant and the Storm defense also shut down the offense for the Firebirds. Bryant allowed zero hits over her two and two-thirds innings of work, aided by two wonderful defensive plays in center field by Steen.

On the day, Steen led the Storm in hits with six, also crossing the plate three times herself. Luderman was impressive at the plate once again, recording five hits, a team-leading three RBI's, and a home run in the first game. Obleton collected two hits and an RBI and made a couple impressive plays from her normal position at third base, while Kriegel turned in a performance of four hits and three runs scored on the day.

The pitching was fantastic for the Storm, with the team only allowing one run on the day, which was unearned. The trio of Storm pitchers today combined to throw 10 strikeouts, with six coming from Barrick-Wessels in her complete game shutout. The Storm recorded a grand total of 24 hits, limiting their opponents to just nine over the two games. Four players (Steen, Luderman, Hill, and Ehlers) are now batting over .400 on the year.

Up Next

The Storm get back to work tomorrow morning for an early first pitch, taking on Marywood at 8 a.m. central. Simpson will then have another short turnaround, facing off with Wisconsin Lutheran at approximately 10:30 a.m.