By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
After a bit of a slow start Tuesday afternoon, the Big Foot softball team gave one of the state’s top Division 2 squads all it could handle.
Unfortunately for the Chiefs, they fell just short.
Visiting Beloit Turner, ranked second in the latest Wisconsin Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association-Wissports.net Division 2 poll, scored three runs in its first at bat and made that hold up in a hard-fought 4-2 victory.
The loss dropped Big Foot to 9-6 overall and 8-6 in the RVC. Turner improved to 20-1 overall.
Big Foot pulled to within a run with two runs in the bottom of the third inning, but couldn’t get any closer. Turner added an insurance run in the top of the sixth inning.
Morgan Stalker led the Chiefs with two hits, a run scored and two RBI, followed by Yesenia Gonzalez with two hits, Brooke Berryman with a hit and a run scored and Courtney Schoenbeck with a hit.
Freshman pitcher Riley Davis took the hard-luck loss, as she worked seven innings, and allowed seven hits, three earned runs, a walk and struck out two. Turner standout Kaitlyn Packard fanned 12 Big Foot batters in the win.
Earlier in the week, Big Foot jumped out to a 7-0 lead after three innings and never looked back in an 11-4 non-conference win Friday at Williams Bay.
Gonzalez had three hits, two runs scored and an RBI for Big Foot, followed by Olivia Briggs with two hits, two runs scored and two RBI. Schoenbeck added two hits, a run scored and three RBI, while Camryn Horton had two hits, a run scored and an RBI and Sam Hartwig two hits and a run scored.
Davis earned the complete-game win, as she allowed 10 hits, three earned runs, a walk and struck out eight.
Big Foot opened the week with an RVC doubleheader sweep over visiting Palmyra-Eagle May 7. The Chiefs posted wins of 19-6 and 11-1.
Leading the way in the first game were Horton with three hits, including a triple, two runs scored and five RBI, followed by Davis with three hits, four runs scored and two RBI and Gonzalez with three hits, two runs scored and three RBI.
Hartwig added three RBI, while Berryman had two. Stalker picked up the victory, as she allowed four hits, four earned runs and four walks in three innings of work.
Gabby Esarco and Hartwig each drove in two runs to lead the offense in the 11-1 win. Esarco also had three hits, while Davis, Briggs, Horton and Katie Santeler each had two.
Davis went the distance to pick up the win, as she allowed five hits and struck out five.
Big Foot was back in action Thursday at Beloit Turner and will compete in the two-day Walworth County Invitational this weekend at the fields in Darien.
