LDNE softball girls and story

The goal for the Wisner-Pilger Gator softball team early this season will be to finish off games.

The locals led in all three outings this past week, but wound up finishing just one game to sport a 1-2 record through week one of the 2013 season.

Things got underway in Pierce Thursday, with W-P staking to a 2-0 lead in the second inning as both Kayli Wheaton and Suzanne Ras had run batted in hits.

W-P saw that lead trimmed to 2-1 in the last of the second inning, then dropped to a 2-6 deficit as Pierce plated four runs in the third inning on four hits and a pair of crucial Gator errors.

Christina Sindelar reached on an error to start the fifth inning and the bases were soon loaded with one out. W-P was only able to plate one as Sindelar scored on a fielder’s choice.

The locals stranded five runners in the middle innings, while Pierce took advantage of its two scoring opportunities.

The second came for Pierce in the sixth inning with four hits and four runs to run to the final score of 10-3.

Pierce outhit the locals 10-5. The runs were split evenly at 5-5 off W-P pitchers Heidi Miller and Suzanne Ras. Miller suffered the defeat in 2 1/3 innings of work.

Saturday’s play at the Wayne Invite saw the locals come away with a split.

Wheaton, Ras, Samantha Liermann, and Kari Liermann all had three hits each to power the offense to a 15-0 win over North Bend to start the day.

Ras tossed a two-hit shutout for the mound victory.

W-P took the early lead on Twin River in the second matchup of the invite, but would not score again as the locals faced an 11-3 setback.

A 3-0 lead came on a two-out rally. Wheaton opened the rally with a double, Ras followed with an RBI single, and Lexi Knust later smacked a two-run single.

Knust led the offense with two hits. The locals had six hits total.

Ras broke even on the day, suffering the mound setback in this battle. She closed with a trio of strikeouts.

LDNE softball girls co-op and play in Winer. Pictured, from left, Heidi Miller, Blair Preston and Jesse Mutum