Maquoketa Valley splits pair of Tri-Rivers doubleheaders

Softball 

A pair of doubleheader splits kept the Maquoketa Valley softball team close to the .500 mark in Tri-Rivers Conference play last week. 

Maquoketa Valley (7-9 conference, 11-17 overall) played host to Calamus-Wheatland in a June 17 doubleheader in Delhi, and split the two games. MV won the first one 7-6, a see-saw battle in which the Wildcats led 3-0, Cal-Wheat took a 6-5 lead, and MV rallied for two runs in the fifth. The Wildcats had 11 hits.

Rylie Aldrich went 3-for-3 and drove in four runs. Maddie Lahr was 3-for-4, and Allie Knipper went 2-for-3. Aldrich was the winning pitcher. 

Cal-Wheat won the nightcap 11-2, holding MV to three hits. Knipper went 2-for-3. Knipper and Payton Beaman were the MV pitchers, with Knipper taking the loss. 

In a doubleheader at Bellevue Marquette June 20, the Wildcats lost the first game 4-2 but won the second one, 7-4. MV had five hits in the first game. Aldrich went 2-for-3, Maddy Anderegg went 2-for-4, and Beaman was 1-for-3 with a triple. Aldrich pitched and took the loss. 

A four-run rally in the top of the seventh inning gave MV the win in the second game, turning a 4-3 deficit into a lead. The ‘Cats collected 12 hits. Knipper was 2-for-3, Taya Tucker went 2-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs, Beaman was 2-for-4 with two RBIs, and Leah Ries was 2-for-4 as well. Carissa Sabers also doubled in the game. Beaman pitched all seven innings to get the win, giving up eight hits and striking out three. 

Baseball 

Maquoketa Valley remained above the .500 mark for the season after winning one out of four games in Tri-Rivers Conference action last week. 

Calamus-Wheatland paid a visit to Delhi to face the Wildcats June 17, and defeated MV 11-0 in six innings and 7-1. The Wildcats had four hits in the first game, including a double by Owen Mensen. Starting pitcher Aspen Kraus took the loss. 

The Warriors took a 4-1 lead into the seventh inning of the second game, and scored three times in the seventh. Mensen went 2-for-3 for MV. Norm Wilson pitched the entire game and took the loss. 

On June 20, the Wildcats (10-8 conference, 10-8 overall) traveled to Bellevue to face Marquette in a doubleheader, and came away with a split, losing 12-2 in six innings and winning 8-2. Parker Sternhagen went 3-for-3 in the first game. Starting pitcher Jon Seibert took the loss, and Andrew Holtz pitched in relief. 

MV led the second game 3-1 through six innings, but scored five runs in the top of the seventh to break the game open. Sternhagen pitched all seven innings, allowing six hits and one walk and striking out seven. The Wildcats had 12 hits, led by Wilson, 3-for-4 with a double; and Seibert, 3-for-4. Holtz and

Mensen both went 2-for-4. Blake Becker and Holtz hit doubles.