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Minster's Reece Albers (11) touches third base as New Bremen's Abby Dwenger reaches for the ball.
NEW BREMEN - Minster built a big lead early in the game which helped soften the blow of all the missed opportunities late in the game.
The Wildcats hit into four double plays and stranded 14 base runners but still had enough gas to cruise past New Bremen, 12-6, in Midwest Athletic Conference softball action Tuesday evening on the Cardinal diamond.
Minster was up 7-0 after two innings and 12-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth. New Bremen staved off the run-rule with six runs in the fifth, then escaped bases-loaded situations in the sixth and seventh without allowing the Cats to cross the plate.
"We talked about being competitive and not letting ourselves make the outs for the other team, and that's what happened in a few of those situations," Minster coach Kenleigh Ludlow said. "I think our word of the day is focus. We lacked that at times tonight and can't take ourselves out of the game like that."
Minster remains unbeaten in the MAC at 4-0 and 10-7 overall. The Cards slipped to 1-5 and 6-12.
The first three Wildcats that came to the plate ended up scoring thanks to a two-run double by Lauren Tyler and a run-scoring single from Alivia Heckman. Minster re-loaded the bases with still no one out in what looked like was going to be a huge first inning. But the Cards turned the first of their two 6-2-3 double plays, followed by a strikeout to get out of the inning with no further damage.
"When we're communicating and we know where we need to go with the ball, we do wonderful things out there defensively," New Bremen coach Gary Moeder said. "It's the times where we're not talking that gets us in trouble. Hopefully we learn from this. You just can't dig a hole early in the game."
Minster added four runs in the second inning. Again it was Tyler delivering the big hit with a two-run single.
The Cats tacked on single runs in the third and fourth innings and then increased the margin to 12-0 with three in the fifth, thanks in part to a two-run single by Alayna Bergman.
New Bremen's Olivia Thornton (left) reaches for a pop fly as teammate Lilly Homan watches.
Caroline Knapke entered the circle in the fifth in relief of starter Brianna Osterloh. Knapke pitched to five batters without recording an out before giving way to Osterloh, who re-entered.
Five singles and a Minster error plated four Cardinal runs in the fifth. Abby Homan greeted Osterloh back to the game with a run-scoring double, and Adilyn Albers knocked in the sixth New Bremen run with a sacrifice fly to left.
"So we didn't back down and I was pleased with the way the girls responded," Moeder said. "It's just we got to play our game the entire game."
"Caroline came in and then a couple unlucky things happened. And then there was some uncharacteristic fielding on our end that definitely did not help that situation," Ludlow said. "But Brianna came back in and took control and shut them down."
Osterloh got the win, striking out nine without walking a batter. Starter Alyana Pape took the mound loss for the Cards. Lily Hibner came on in relief in the fourth inning and went the rest of the way.
Tyler paced the Cats at the plate with three hits, three runs and four RBI. Bergman also had a three-hit night for the winners. Olivia Thorton carried the big stick for the Cards with three hits, including a double.
Minster hosts its annual Alumni Classic on Friday with games against Russia and a team to be determined. The Wildcats resume a suspended game with St. Henry on Monday. New Bremen is at Shawnee on Thursday and at Anna on Friday.
