Tigers 2-0 at home tournament

The Red Oak softball team grabbed a pair of wins at its own Red Oak Tigers Softball Tournament Saturday.
The Tigers (4-22) jumped out to an 8-2 lead in a 14-3 win over Essex in the opener and capped their day with an 11-7 win over Sidney,
“Going into a home tournament with nine players and some of those players battling some adversity as is can be a daunting task,” said Red Oak coach Alec Ruskell. “The girls showed they were up to the challenge and came out on the attack.”
The Tigers’ quick start against Essex in the opener led to a season-high 19 hits.
“The bats continued to roll, finding gaps with hard shots and consistently putting the ball in play putting up three more runs in the third and fourth innings putting the game away,” Ruskell said.
The comfortable lead allowed pitcher Kenzie Wilcoxson to go to work, scattering four hits and three earned runs while striking out four in the win.
Alyssa Young was 4-for-4 to lead the Tigers at the plate. Josie Sampson, Kaylee Aughe and Kaylee Erickson added three hits each. Aughe drove in three runs and Sampson and Rayne Chandler two each.
Red Oak’s bats started slow in game two with the Cowgirls taking a 3-1 lead into the fifth.
“The girls seemed a little anxious after seeing the ball fly off the bat in game one and facing a similar styled pitcher,” Ruskell said. “We were able to settle in in the fifth inning scoring nine runs and working through the lineup twice.”
The Tigers finished with 14 hits. Anna Chaillie had three hits and drove in a run and Chandler, Wilcoxson, Sampson and Aughe had base knocks each. Wilcoxson, in addition to tossing the complete game in the nightcap, also drove in three runs.
“The offense wasn’t the only thing as defensively we had a great day only having four errors in the two games and there wasn’t an error in which that player didn’t immediately make up for it with an out,” Ruskell said. “The day was capped off with a tremendous throw from Kaylee Aughe gunning out the runner trying to take home from midway into left field.”
Wilcoxson had the tough task of being on the mound for both matchups and pitched wonderfully, Ruskell said.
“A few batters got away from her, but she bounced back throwing strikes and striking out a total of 10,” Ruskell said. “There were also no-hit batters given up by her which may seem like a weird stat to bring up but the focus for our pitchers has been on consistently trying to find the zone and cut down on wild pitches so to not hit a batter in two games shows that that goal was accomplished. In the two games she gave up 12 hits and eight earned runs.”

Trojans sweep Tigers in H-10 double-header
Atlantic picked up a pair of wins over Red Oak 21-0 and 20-0 in Hawkeye 10 Conference Softball Thursday in Red Oak.
The Class 3A No. 10 ranked Trojans tallied a combined 23 hits in the sweep.
“A double header against a top ranked team in 3A and the number one team in the Hawkeye 10 is always one that you think can get out of hand but are also up to the challenge to see if your team is ready to compete,” said Red Oak coach Alex Ruskell.
Ruskell said his team was a little overpowered from Atlantic’s pitching, but they adjusted the second time through the lineup and were able to put the ball in play.
“We showed great patience at the plate seeing balls and strikes well for the most part and getting deeper into the count in the second game,” Ruskell said. “Defensively we had a strong first game where we showed great improvement on things we focused on in practice yesterday which is always fantastic to see. Second game we had a few errors we want back but still there was more improvement seen than the negatives, just have to clean up that last little bit before the season is over.”
Trojan pitcher Peyton McLaren allowed one hit and struck out nine in the game one win. Eighth grader Kinsley Johnson fanned seven and did not allow a hit in the game two victory.
Lilly Cooper took the game one loss for Red Oak. She allowed one hit and four earned runs while walking two.
Kenzie Wilcoxson started strong on the mound in game two for the Tigers, according to Ruskell, as she found the zone early in at-bats and hit the corners of the zone keeping hitters guessing.
“Atlantic did a good job adjusting as well, forcing long at bats and putting the ball in play,” Ruskell said.
Kaylee Aughe had the Tigers’ lone hit in the two games.
“All-in-all the score is less than desired but we continued to show improvement in a lot of areas of the game, and the focus is getting better with every opportunity presented,” Ruskell said. “As always, the future looks really bright for the Tigers, and we have a few more chances this year to show what we are capable of.”

Glenwood 20,
Red Oak 6
Glenwood collected 14 hits in a 20-6 win over Red Oak in Hawkeye 10 Conference softball last Tuesday.
The Rams scored the game’s first six runs and then closed it out with a 10-run fourth on their way to the victory.
Audrey Albers had a big night for the Rams. The senior doubled twice and drove in six runs. Rylee Hutchings added three hits and drove in two runs and Malynn Johnson had two hits and drove in a pair of runs.
For Red Oak coach Alec Ruskell, the game came down to two innings: the first and the fourth.
“There were very high highs and very low lows,” Ruskell said. “Started off rough with an off night for Lilly Cooper, mix that in with some errors and some well-placed shots by Glenwood and they were able to get to a 6-0 lead.”
Emma Wingert came in relief of Coooper late in the first inning and pitched well through three innings before giving up a few hits and a few runs.
The Tigers were clicking and finding gaps and piecing together some runs, trailing 10-6 heading to the final inning.
“Then, as the saying goes, when it rains it pours,” Ruskell said. “The fourth inning was a mix of errors, hard hits, and a few walks. Looking at the stat line I would assume there were actually more errors than what we had credited but when they come in bunches it always feels worse than what it is. 
“Overall, you take out the fourth inning. It was an incredibly competitive game with a couple errors mixed in, so we are going to choose to naturally lean on those innings to build off of while looking back at the fourth to learn as much as possible.”
Ryan Reckinger picked up the win for the Rams. The freshman scattered six hits and six earned runs while striking out three.
Kaylee Aughe had two hits and Lilly Cooper, Alyssa Young and Wingert had a hit each for Red Oak.

Titans take two from Tigers
Council Bluffs Lewis Central combined to scored 25 runs in a pair of wins over Red Oak in Hawkeye 10 Conference softball last Monday at Iowa Western Community College.
The Titans (18-5) won game one 22-0 and then completed the sweep with a 23-0 win in game two.
“These are the games against really good teams to look back on as a young team and hopefully learn and grow from,” said Red Oak coach Alec Ruskell. “That’s the benchmark on where we should be and will be eventually and Atlantic will be no different. See the bar, beat the bar, set the new bar.”
Ruskell called the opener a “forgettable game” for his team as they collected three hits and commit nine errors defensively.
“Energy was low and we struggled to make the routine plays,” said Ruskell. “We did a good job putting the ball in play offensively, but LC is not just the offensive juggernaut that everyone knows them to be but very solid defensively as well. Big offense from LC assisted by errors on our part were the unfortunate story of game one.”
Lucy DeMasi, Emma Wingert and Lilly Cooper each collected hits for the Tigers.
Ruskell said his team was able to regroup between games and came out with better energy and hustle in the nightcap.
“There were still errors made but we moved around the field nicely and finishing plays strong sometimes stealing an out when LC tried to take the extra base,” the coach said. “Same story offensively for us as we hit the ball well but found the glove a lot of times.”
The Titans scored 12 first inning runs and collected 18 total hits in the game. Fifteen of the 23 runs were unearned.
Pitcher Millie Chadwick scattered two hits and struck out two in game two victory.
In the double-header the Titans combined to hit a total of four home runs, two by Aubree Davis in her 4-for-4, six RBI night in game two.
Wingert took the loss in game two after allowing 13 hits and eight earned runs.
Josie Sampson and Alyssa Young each had hits for the Tigers in game two.

Trojans edge Tigers, 3-1
Hudson McLaren tossed a two-hitter for Atlantic in a 3-1 win over Red Oak in Hawkeye 10 Conference baseball Thursday.
McLaren walked just one, did not allow an earned runs and struck out four in his 88-pitch win.
Red Oak coach Tristin Johnson thought his team played well but struggled to string hits together against McLaren.
“We had two on the night, but we only struck out four times compared to Atlantic’s nine,” he said. “We were putting it in play just was right at them and credit Atlantic they made the plays.”
Reese Montgomery started on the mound for Red Oak, going five innings while allowing three earned runs on eight hits, three walks and six strikeouts.
At the plate Hudson Fisher and Cale Hall each had hits for Red Oak.

Glenwood 6,
Red Oak 3
Glenwood avenged an earlier home loss to Red Oak with a 6-3 win on the Tigers’ home field in Hawkeye 10 Conference baseball last Tuesday.
Max Koehler had two hits and drove in a run at the plate picked up the win on the hill throwing five strong innings. The freshman allowed six hits and two earned runs to go with three strikeouts.
Osiel Pedersen went the distance for the Tigers on the mound to take the loss.
Red Oak coach Tristin Johnson thought both teams were pretty evenly matched everywhere other than the scoreboard.
“We had nine hits, they had 10,” he said. “We had four strikeouts; they had five strikeouts. Every stat was super close, and this was a good ball game, but they just strung more hits and walks together then we did.”
Nile Jensen had two hits and drove in a run and Ben Carlo, Benn Christiansen, Charlie Hutchcraft, Jace Woodward, Marshall Yeager and Myles Stanton each added hits for the Rams.
 Red Oak was led at the plate by Cale Hall and Carson Roeder with three hits each.

Lewis Central sweeps Red Oak
Council Bluffs Lewis Central notched 13-3 and 6-0 wins over Red Oak in a Hawkeye 10 Conference double-header in Council Bluffs Monday.
The Titans collected nine hits and took advantage of 10 Tiger free passes – seven walks, three hit-by-pitches – in the game one win.
“A few many walks by us on the mound while also Lewis Central hitting the ball hard when they were hitting it,” said Red Oak coach Tristin Johnson. “We had a few errors which led to some runs as well.”
Seth Lydon started on the hill in game one and took the loss after going two innings and giving up five hits and three earned runs while walking three.
At the plate, Johnson liked his team’s aggressiveness, but it also hurt his team with some swings out of the zone. They struck out 15 times in the two games combined.
“Tonight they (the Titans) did a good job painting the corners and mixing up high and low, but we still hit well,” Johnson said.
Cale Hall, Carson Roeder, Kaleb Sebeniecher, Hudson Fisher, Dallton Ferree and Osiel Pedersen all had hits for the Tigers.
In the nightcap, Johnson said his Tigers did a much better job getting in the strike zone and cutting down on the walks.
“We did a great job keeping hitters off balance and were getting some weak pop ups,” Johnson said.
Masen Fisher started on the mound, going 3 and 2/3 innings and giving up three earned runs on three hits to take the loss.
The Titans’ Caden Nepple and Ryne Burroughs combined to allowed four hits and strikeout nine in game two. Burroughs was credited with the win.
Carson Roeder had two hits and Hudson Fisher and Dalton Ferree one each for Red Oak.