By Chris Bennett
Correspondent
Coach Jacob Schueller said pitcher Carolyn Griswold is throwing as well as anyone right now in the Southern Lakes Conference.
Griswold allowed five hits in five innings and struck out two April 30 in the Elks’ 12-2 SLC victory at home against Badger (0-9, 0-6).
Schueller said Griwsold also pitched well April 28 against Westosha Central, but the Elks lost 11-1.
Elkhorn played Tuesday at home in a SLC game against Waterford (2-9, 1-6 SLC), and plays today at home in a SLC game against Delavan-Darien.
Delavan-Darien (8-4, 5-4 SLC) is ranked seventh in Division 2 in the latest Wisconsin Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association state poll
The Elks play Jefferson (6-7) Saturday at home in a non-conference doubleheader.
The Elks (6-7, 2-5 SLC) discussed playing better defense prior to the Badger game, and committed two errors in the first inning.
“I was upset, the girls were upset, and we addressed it as a team,” Schueller said. “We responded with an errorless game the rest of the way, which was great to see.
“Errors are going to happen, but how a team bounces back determines the type of team they are. We bounced back well and were dominant the rest of the way.”
The Elks scored two runs in the second and third innings and led 4-1 before getting loose for eight runs in the fifth. The Elks finished with nine hits.
Rachel Gosh, Amy Kolacke, Bailey Ledonne and Payton Barker each finished with two hits. Meghan Etten and Morgan Rudolf each drove in three runs.
Schueller said the game against Central should have been closer. The Falcons are ranked No. 2 in Division 1 in the latest WFSCA state poll, and are the defending WIAA Division 1 state runner-up.
The Elks committed eight errors against Central.
“We played that poorly defensively and were still in it for the majority of the game with the No. 2 team in Division 1,” Schueller said. “If these girls keep up the great attitudes and belief in one another, we’ll fix our issues on defense, and then the sky is the limit.”
Central (16-2, 8-0 SLC) finished with 15 hits. The Falcons scored two runs in the first inning and led 4-1 before scoring four runs in the fifth.
Gosh finished with one hit and scored a run, driven in by Hailey Wang. Griswold threw a complete game and struck out three.
“Offensively, I was really happy with our at-bats,” Schueller said. “We put the ball in play a lot. Westosha averages around seven strikeouts a game and we only had two. We showed we can compete with the best.”
