The Grundy Center summer sports teams went 1-1 at Jesup Wednesday in NICL crossover action. The baseball team won 19-8 and the softball team fell 11-10.
In the softball game, the teams were engaged in a high-scoring battle, but the #12 (2A) J-Hawks put together an offensive rally to earn a seventh inning walk off win. Despite the loss, the Spartans have had a strong start to the season by winning three of their first five. Head Coach Andy Lebo says a trio of pitchers, including Maddy Hendershot, Macey Kiewiet and Allison Koch provide great depth.
“Maddy, only being a sophomore, she’s got a lot of experience,” Lebo says. “She threw a lot for us as an eighth grader and then last year as a freshman, and I mean she’s a gamer. You know what you’ll get from her. She’ll go out and battle you. She throws strikes. She’s done exceptionally well for us. Macey being an eighth grader, she has a lot of experience, obviously not at the high school level yet, but plays a lot of club ball and really works at this, and she’s come out and really been dominant also. It’s nice to have one good pitcher, and we’ve got multiple. We have another one with, with Allison Koch, who we haven’t gotten any innings yet. And she’s also going to be one that’s going to throw a lot for us. So we’re very fortunate to have three really good pitchers that we can run out there on any given night.”
The baseball team scored five in the first inning, but gave up four in the bottom of the first. After the J-Hawks tied it with a run in the third, the Spartans took the lead for good when they scored six in the fourth inning. They added one in both the fifth and sixth, and added six more in the seventh to gain breathing room. Jesup mounted a comeback, but only scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh.
Both teams will return to action Thursday by hosting East Marshall in NICL-West action. The softball game will start at 5:00 and the baseball game will be at 7:00.
Lebo interview:
