NTC ROUNDUP: Recapping the 2023 National Trail Conference Softball Tournament

May 5—EFFINGHAM — The National Trail Conference Softball Tournament has come and gone.

The championship game withstanding; here is a look back at each game in the Effingham Daily News NTC Roundup.

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GAME 1

(4) Altamont vs. (5) Dieterich

Altamont withstood a late Dieterich rally to come away with a 3-2 win over the Maroons in Game 1.

The Lady Indians got on the board first after an RBI single by Brianna Grunloh in the second inning.

Grace Lemke then added an RBI single in the fifth before a Brittney Niemerg run-scoring base hit plated two to tie the game in the bottom half of the frame.

Madison Tonn, however, came through in the top of the sixth with a run-scoring single to equal the final.

Lemke finished with two hits, while Claire Boehm, Skylie Klein, Lanie Tedrick and Adria Denton joined Grunloh and Tonn with one hit.

Lemke pitched for Altamont and allowed two hits and five walks with 11 strikeouts over seven innings.

Ella Kreke joined Niemerg with the lone two hits for Dieterich.

Niemerg also pitched for the Maroons and allowed one walk with six strikeouts over her seven frames.

GAME 2

(2) Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg vs. (7) St. Elmo/Brownstown

Sam Hayes had four hits and five RBIs in Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg's 15-0 win over St. Elmo/Brownstown in Game 2.

Altogether, the Hatchets finished with 15 hits in the game.

Ella Kinkelaar, Kaylyn Carey, Alaira Friese and Leah Kasey each had two and Ava Richards, Sam Porter and Ellie Wittenberg each had one.

GAME 3

(3) Farina (South Central) vs. (6) Beecher City/Cowden-Herrick

South Central made quick work of CHBC in Game 3, scoring all 17 runs in the first two innings in its 17-0, four-inning victory.

Jaylyn Michel had three hits and four RBIs. Kinlee Thompson had three hits and three RBIs. Ella Watwood had one hit and three RBIs. Amelia Montes had one hit and two RBIs. Abi Shuler and Brooklyn Garrett each had one hit and one RBI. Taegan Webster had one RBI and Kyra Swift had one hit.

As for the Bobcats, Ruby Stuckemeyer and Addison Wasson collected their only hits.

GAME 4

(1) Effingham (St. Anthony) vs. (4) Altamont

Five St. Anthony players recorded more than one hit in the Bulldogs' 17-0 rout of Altamont in Game 4.

Abbi Hatton and Anna Faber were two such players and each had four RBIs, while Laney Coffin, Camille Wines and Cameran Rios were the others.

Nancy Ruholl, Adysen Rios, Ella Johnson, Ava Walton, Hailey Niebrugge, Lucy Fearday, Sydney Kibler and Ava Faber also had hits for the Bulldogs.

Meanwhile, for the Lady Indians, Adria Denton collected their only two hits.

GAME 5

(2) Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg vs. (3) Farina (South Central)

The Hatchets may have struck first.

But the Lady Cougars celebrated in the end.

South Central defeated WSS, 7-5, after trailing 4-1 heading into the fifth.

The Hatchets scored three runs in the bottom of the first. They scored one more in the bottom of the second.

The Lady Cougars then answered with four runs in the top of the fifth to take a 5-4 advantage after a three-run home run by Brooklyn Garrett.

Garrett finished the game with three hits.

She talked about her team's resilience after the game.

"I think the main thing was to stay up and keep a positive mindset and not get down on ourselves," Garrett said. "We were kind of down in the first few innings, but we knew we had to come back."

That is indeed what they did, too.

After the four-run fifth inning, WSS answered with one in the bottom of the frame to tie the game again.

But the Lady Cougars then scored twice in the top of the seventh to take control of the game for good and ultimately advance to the championship game.

GAME 6

(6) Beecher City/Cowden-Herrick vs. (7) St. Elmo/Brownstown

Ruby Stuckemeyer had two hits and one RBI for the CHBC Bobcats in its 12-0 win over St. Elmo/Brownstown in Game 6.

Aside from Stuckemeyer, a plethora of other CHBC players recorded hits, too.

Macee Rodman tripled. Addison Wasson doubled and Marissa Summers, Koda Colman, MaKenna Roley, Adelyn Musson, Ryleigh Sarver and Averie Vaughn hit singles.

As for the Eagles, Kairi Speagle, Macey Sapp and Leila Wright recorded their hits.

GAME 7

(5) Dieterich vs. (6) Beecher City/Cowden-Herrick

Dieterich pounced on CHBC in the sixth inning by scoring five runs in the Maroons' 8-3 win over the Bobcats in Game 7.

Eva Meinhart had two hits and three RBIs. Callie Faller had two hits and two RBIs. Brittney Niemerg and Lucie Jansen each had two hits. Ruby Westendorf had one hit and two RBIs and Estella Meinhart and Addi Huber each had one hit for Dieteirch.

As for CHBC, Ryleigh Sarver had two hits and Macee Rodman, Koda Colman and Averie Vaughn each had one.

GAME 8

(2) Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg vs. (5) Altamont

Ava Richards had two hits and three RBIs for WSS in its 5-0 win over Altamont.

Ellie Wittenberg and Ella Kinkleaar also added hits in the contest.

Sam Hayes pitched, did not yield one hit or run and had 11 strikeouts.

As for the Lady Indians, Grace Lemke started in the circle and allowed two walks with six strikeouts.

Contact EDN Sports Editor Alex Wallner at 618-510-9231 or alex.wallner@effinghamdailynews.com.