Spirit Lake hosted Cherokee on Thursday and tallied another Lakes Conference softball victory by a 9-4 final. Alli Gerking got things going early with a leadoff home run, one of two extra base hits for the senior. Paige Krause went 3-for-4 with a RBI, while Emily Mercer drove in a pair of runs on two hits and Alissa Christoffer plated three more with her two hits. Krause earned the win allowing just five hits and striking out three. Sami Ashland came in for the save and struck out two more batters over three innings. Spirit Lake improves to 17-5 overall and 5-4 in the league. They open the Spencer tournament on Friday with games against top-ranked Akron-Westfield and Bishop Heelan.
Also in the Lakes Conference, Emmetsburg shutout rival Spencer in a 5-0 win over the Tigers. Faith Schmidt hurled a one hitter with 13 strikeouts for the E-Hawks. Aly Berven gave Schmidt the early lead with a leadoff homer, and Miranda Vlasman hit a three-run shot two innings later. Karis Rhode notched the lone hit for Spencer, which falls to 3-5 in the conference. Emmetsburg, at 8-1, remains in first-place.
A dozen teams took the fields in Milford for the Okoboji Softball Tournament on Thursday. The Pioneers defended their home turf with two wins. Game one was a 10-4 decision over Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn. Miranda Miler hit a solo homer for Okoboji and Kiley Wermersen finished with a team-best two RBI. Mikkinzie Peschong picked up the win. Onica Jacobs provided the power for HMS, blasting two solo home runs. Kathryn Ahlers took the loss. The Pioneers then defeated Sioux Central, 6-2. Maggie Rohlk smashed a two-run homer and finished with three RBI. Younger sister Olivia came through with a 2-for-4 night, a run scored and another driven in. Sydney Boeckholt got the win allowing five hits. The Pioneers host Sioux Center on Friday in a Siouxland Conference game.
The rest of the Okoboji Invite saw Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn run-rule Sioux Central by a 13-2 final in five innings, Graettinger-Terril fell 10-7 against Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley, and then again 9-2 to MOC-Floyd Valley.
Harris-Lake Park posted a 1-1 record on day one of the tourney, defeating Sibley-Ocheyedan 8-6 in eight innings before falling 8-0 against MOC-Floyd Valley.
Other scores:
Sheldon 13, Clay Central-Everly 2 (6)
South O’Brien 17, Clay Central-Everly 2 (5)
Spalding Catholic 13, Sibley-Ocheyedan 5
South O’Brien 9, Sheldon 3
Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley 11, Spalding Catholic 1 (5)
The Okoboji Softball Tournament continues on Saturday in Milford.
