HTC win starts busy week for Crusaders

PROGRESS

There is some progress with this group,” Menke said. “Like they say, the postseason is when you want to be playing your best, and I think we keep taking steps toward that.”

Loren Menke, HTC Head Coach

WEST POINT — The postseason might seem far off for the Holy Trinity softball team, given the regular-season schedule the Crusaders have to face this week.
But Monday’s 7-5 win over Highland at South Park was one that HTC coach Loren Menke thinks could have a big impact on when and where the Crusaders play once the regional tournament starts in early July.
“They’re a school, a team, we might see again, and a game like this might determine who gets the home-field advantage in the postseason,” Menke said. “Who knows? But Highland has got a great program, they've had a great program forever, and so to beat a team like that is big for our team.”
It was a non-divisional game in the Southeast Iowa Super Conference for the Crusaders (12-5), but South Division play will pick up for them in the next three days. HTC, which is 4-3 and in fourth place in the division, plays at second-place Mediapolis (8-5 overall, 6-1 division) Tuesday night, then plays a doubleheader with third-place West Burlington-Notre Dame (10-6, 5-2) on Thursday.
“So it’s a tough schedule,” said Menke, whose team won its fourth consecutive game. “I said coming in, we’ve got four games in a row where we’re going to find out a lot about ourselves.”
HTC rallied after Highland (5-5) tied the game at 5 in the top of the sixth inning. The Crusaders loaded the bases with one out, then Isabella Behne walked to bring in a run. Alivia Holmes followed with a sacrifice fly that put the Crusaders up 7-5.
Highland’s Maiya Singbeil singled and advanced to third on an error to open the seventh inning, but HTC pitcher Sydney Jarvis struck out the next two hitters then got a infield popup from Ava Sexton to end the game.
Jarvis, the winning pitcher, was able to escape trouble for most of the game.
Highland had runners on second and third with nobody out in the third inning, but Jarvis struck out Kamryn Fick and got Kayce Schnoebelen to pop into a double play.
The Huskies loaded the bases in the fourth inning, but Katelyn Thomann lined out to end the inning. Then in the fifth, after Highland had scored a run to take a 2-1 lead, HTC’s Cadyn Holmes fielded a two-out grounder and threw home to get Lilly Barre to end the inning.
“We just had so many big defensive plays,” Menke said. “That popup for a double play was really big. We’ve had good defense all year.”
HTC scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth. Morgan Krogmeier’s triple scored Ellie Hellman, then Krogmeier scored on Alivia Holmes’ single. Holmes scored on a single by Makayla Simpson, and Jarvis drove in Simpson with a single for the final run of the inning.
Emily Ross drove in Alivia Holmes with a first-inning single for HTC’s first run.
“There is some progress with this group,” Menke said. “Like they say, the postseason is when you want to be playing your best, and I think we keep taking steps toward that.”