Lynx blow out Brookings

Brandon Valley softball blew out the Brookings Bobcats 10-5 on Thursday.

The Lady Lynx took the lead with five runs in the third inning. In the third the Bobcats made an error, allowing BV to score two. Mya Bunker doubled, driving in one run, and Brooke Heinen singled, driving in another.

Grace Bowar blasted a homer, as did Emily Moschell, who drove in four runs on two hits. 

The Lynx had nine hits in the game. Tessa VanDenTop, Andrea Cain, Bowar, Moschell, Bunker and Heinen each collected two hits; Brookings collected seven. 

“We did some really good things offensively,” said Lynx coach Corey Christiansen. “I thought we moved runners over well, and we did a great job hitting with two strikes. It was really nice to see our players making adjustments from at bat to at bat, and staying patient with their approach to hitting. 

“I thought Kendra Kuehn pitched very well in the second game as she was aggressive with her pitches and stayed ahead of the Brookings hitters,” he said.

BV opened the season with back-to-back games against Rapid City Stevens and Central Aug. 18-19. 

The Lynx fell to the Raiders, 8-1.  The game was tied 1-1 with RC batting at bat in the top of the fourth when the Raiders doubled off Bunker, driving in a solo run.

The Lynx evened things up in the bottom of the second.  Jeniah Johnson singled on the first pitch to plate a run.

Stevens took the lead for good with two runs in the fourth, followed by four in the sixth. 

Bunker went six innings on the bump, striking out four. 

The Lynx landed a 17-1 victory Aug. 19 against the Cobblers. 

BV captured the lead in the first, scoring on singles by Bunker and Jeniah Johnson, a passed ball and an error.

The Lynx scored five runs in the fifth, driven by a single by VanDenTop and a double by Morgan McKellep.

Kuehn earned the win for the Lynx. She tossed five innings, giving up one run, four hits, and striking out four.

The Lynx collected 16 hits. Bunker, Cain, VanDenTop, Johnson, McKellep and Moschell each collected multiple hits. Bunker went 4-for-4 at the plate to lead the team. Moschell had five chances in the field.

On Aug. 18 BV plated six runs in the fifth on their way to an 11-2 victory over the Cobblers.

BV solidified the win with two runs in the third and scored six runs in the fifth, driven by a double by Kuehn, a double by Bowar, and a double by  McKellep.

Johnson earned the win for BV, throwing five innings, allowing two runs, five hits, and striking out four.

On Aug. 18,  it came down to the last play, but the Lynx were on the wrong end of an 8-7 defeat to the Raiders. 

The Raiders were down 7-6 in the bottom of the sixth inning when they doubled off Johnson, driving in two runs.

BV took an early lead in the first. The Raiders scored five runs in the third. In the top of the fourth, BV tied things up at 5-5. McKellep’s double drove in one run. Kuehn also launched a double. 

The Lady Lynx out-hit the Raiders 10-9, and were led by Cain’s three hits in four at bats. McKellep and Bowar had two hits apiece, and Kuehn had three RBIs to her credit. She also struck out two batters in five innings on the mound.

“Rapid City were our first league games,” Christensen noted. “We did some things well, and we did some things we need to work on. I thought it was a great opportunity for these girls, who have never all played together as a group with so many new varsity faces, to establish an identity for our team. It was a good test for us to see where we stand and where we need to get to moving forward with our season.”

The Lady Lynx face  Roosevelt at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 5 at Sherman Park in Sioux Falls.