JV opens with wins in three of four

   Monticello led off its junior varsity softball season by winning three of its first four games.

   Hailey Henderson’s walkoff single drove in Lilly Stoll with the winning run, as the Monticello junior varsity softball team opened its season with an 8-7 home victory over Bellevue May 24.

   The Panthers (3-1) trailed 7-4 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, but scored four times to win it. Stoll hit a two-run single, and Claire McElmeel had an RBI single to tie it before Henderson’s game-winning hit.

   McElmeel finished 2-for-2 at the plate. Peyton Ries was 1-for-2 and stole two bases.

   On May 30, the Panthers lost a tough 1-0 decision at home against Benton Community. The Bobcats scored their lone run in the fourth inning on a solo home run. Monticello was held to four hits, singles by Alayna Tallman, Addison Norton, Henderson and Stoll. McElmeel pitched a three-hitter with seven strikeouts, but took the loss.

   Monticello then traveled to Epworth to take on Western Dubuque June 3, and swept a doubleheader, winning by scores of 7-3 and 14-9. In the first game, Ries pitched all five innings for the win, striking out six. Gabi Barnhart and Tallman both went 2-for-3 at the plate; Tallman had two RBIs. McElmeel hit a double.

   The Panthers scored 10 runs in the top of the first inning to take control of the second game. Monticello collected 19 hits. Haili Schlarmann went 3-for-2. Getting two hits apiece were Mya Hansen, Kinzi Schlarmann, Greta Cooper, Henderson, Barnhart, Stoll and Norton. Hansen and Tallman each had a double.