Highway 91 freshman Brittney Faltys swings the bat against Lakeview on Sept. 14, 2024, at Bradshaw Park in Columbus. COLUMBUS — Highway 91 softball competed in its second tournament of the season Saturday at the Lakeview Invite at Bradshaw Park.
The Cyclones erased deficits in their first two games to earn wins against Class B opponents Lakeview and York. They ended the tournament with a defeat to Logan View/Scribner-Snyder to place third. "I was very happy with how we played earlier (Saturday) morning," Highway 91 head coach Drew Machmueller said.
"Kind of ran out of gas late, but anytime we can play a couple Class B teams and come away with wins I will never be upset about that." Cyclones junior AnneMarie Slaughter swings the bat versus Logan View/Scribner-Snyder on Sept. 14, 2024, at Bradshaw Park in Columbus.
In the first game of the day, Highway 91 fell behind 3-0 in the first inning. It pulled even in the third inning thanks to a two-run triple and a steal of home by freshman Brittney Faltys. Lakeview retook the lead in the top of the fourth, but the Cyclones reclaimed the lead scoring five runs in home half.
Sophomore Allie Dirkschneider scored the tying run on an error, sophomore Autumn Slaughter stole home, senior Jordyn Ratzlaff scored on a passed ball, sophomore Reese Bruhn hit an RBI ground out and Faltys scored on a passed ball to seal an 8-4 win. Highway 91 jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning versus York on an error that scored Dirkschneider and Ratzlaff. Both teams traded leads in the fourth and fifth innings.
York led 6-4 with two outs in the bottom of the fifth, but an error scored Faltys and extended the game. On the next pitch, junior AnneMarie Slaughter hit a walk-off two-run triple to score sophomore Madi Compton and junior Emma Bernhardt for a 7-6 win. "It's something that we've shown at times when we put it together, it's actually beautiful to watch.
We know we have the capability," Machmueller said. "It would be nice if we learned to not start so slow, but overall I'm really happy with how we're developing and growing. There is still a lot of stuff in front of us that we can achieve.
" The Cyclones lost 14-2 to LVSS as the Raiders scored five runs in each of the final two innings. Autumn hit an RBI ground out and junior Jocelyn Donnelly scored on an error. "I think we played really well.
There were tough teams, but I feel like we came out on top," Faltys said. "Positivity is a lot of it, working hard and just being confident in yourself is a big part of coming back when your below." Faltys led the Cyclones at the plate with three hits, one triple, two RBIs and three runs scored on Saturday.
The freshman has been a key run producer in her first season. "Starting as a freshman is a big responsibility," Faltys said. "It's a lot of pressure, but I think I'm handling it well.
" Highway 91 senior Jordyn Ratzlaff winds up to throw a pitch against Logan View/Scribner-Snyder on Sept. 14, 2024, at Bradshaw Park in Columbus. Ratzlaff pitched 8 and 1/3 innings on Saturday.
The senior allowed four runs, three earned, on eight hits and struck out nine Lakeview hitters in five innings. She threw the final inning against York before starting against LVSS. Ratzlaff allowed nine runs, seven earned, on four hits and five walks in 2 and 1/3 innings.
Cyclones freshman Matelyn Rayback started versus York and tossed four innings. She allowed three runs, one earned, on four hits and struck out six Dukes. Rayback pitched 2/3 innings against LVSS allowing three runs on two hits and four walks.
"At times, (Ratzlaff pitched) really well. I think we just ran out of gas there late," Machmueller said. "It started off a little bit rough (versus Lakeview) and then she settled in and she really came back at it.
I thought Matelyn (Rayback) did well when she came in and then we just kind of ran out of gas in that last one." Cyclones sophomore Grace Hansen catches a pop up versus Lakeview on Sept. 14, 2024, at Bradshaw Park in Columbus.
Highway 91 completed its best week of the season after earning a victory on Sept. 10 against Class A South Sioux City 13-1. It lost 13-0 to Twin River on Thursday.
The Cyclones improved to 6-8. They'll host NEN on Thursday before competing in the Arlington Invite on Saturday. "We're still growing.
We're still learning, but overall I'm happy with where we're at," Machmueller said. "There's some things that we left on the table and we know that. We know if we play things our way, we can do a lot of good things.
We just got to keep building on that." Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sports Reporter {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items..
