Girls pick up hardware at state softball tourney

HASTINGS –Randolph’s 10U softball team qualified for and played in the state softball tournament in Hastings the weekend of July 12-14.

On opening day of the touranment, Randolph played York Fusion 10u, winning 8-2.

Pitcher Andee English struck out the first two batters of the game finishing with five strikeouts on the game.

The Cardinals capitalized on numerous walks with Hailey Tunink hitting a single.

With the first win under their belt, the girls had some downtime before their second matchup.

“It felt incredible to get the first win at State and this way the girls could relax until later on Saturday,” said Coach Lyndsee English.

On the afternoon of Day 2, Randolph’s 10U played Waverly Heat 9U and recorded a loss of 2-7.

Andee English was hot again at the pitcher’s mound, recording three strikeouts. Kenley Flaming lead the bats with a double.

Also notable in the loss was Brystol Bermel making a double play at first base. Kyndell Junck also showed a good defensive game at catcher, throwing out a runner trying to steal third, Coach English said.

With this loss, the Cardinals played again Saturday evening against the Hartington Hurricanes 10U, winning the contest 9-7.

“We started off with a strong first inning and then didn’t do as much in the middle of the game but then came back with a very intense, amazing last inning,” Coach English said.

Andee English recorded eight strikeouts, striking out the last three batters of the game. She was also hot up to bat with two singles. Kody Dockhorn hit a single and a homerun in the game. Flaming, Bermel, Harlow Gerdes, Sophie Kuchta, Caidynce Worlein all came up with singles. Blakelyn Meyer hit a single and a double.

“The bats really came alive against Hartington and it was great for the girls to get this victory over somebody we had already played a couple times this season,” Coach English said.

Heading into Sunday, the Cardinals were paired up against the Hastings Bombers 10u and won 8-1.

Andee English recorded seven strikeouts. Meyer had a great game defensively at catcher, throwing out a runner at third base.

Andee English hit a homerun while Dockhorn came up with two singles, Flaming a double and a single, Meyer a triple, Junck a triple and a single, and Tunink with a single and a double.

“Again, our batting was tremendous this morning but we played great defense too. All around one of the best games we had played all weekend,” Coach English said of the match against Hastings.

With that win, the Cardinals then played Crete Diamonds 10u, winning with a final score of 7-6.

“This was a very close game throughout. We ended up loading the bases and they walked in the winning run with two outs,” Coach English said.

Andee English recorded four strikeouts. Dockhorn hit a single, Junck a double, and Dawsyn Papenhausen a single.

Next, the Cardinals faced off against Nebraska Heat out of Louisville, losing the contest 3-11.

Andee English pitched as did Flaming and between the two, they recorded three strikeouts. Meyer and Tunink produced single hits in the loss.

“Nebraska Heat had some very good pitchers and our girls just couldn’t get the bats going in this game,” Coach English said.

With this loss, the Cardinals 10U softball team finished their run at the state tourney with a 4-2 record, landing the team in fourth place.

Medals were awarded to fourth place and better with 20 teams in the 10u bracket.

Coaches Crystal Junck and Lyndsee English said they are proud of the performance and effort given at the tournament.

“Before the tournament started we told the girls that no matter what happened, win or lose, we were incredibly proud of them for qualifying for the state tournament and going down and playing. We felt that they represented Randolph very well. This was an experience of a lifetime for these girls and numerous girls have already stated that they want to go back next year,” Coach English said.

Members of the team are Andee English, Kody Dockhorn, Kyndell Junck, HaileyTunink, Dawsyn Papenhausen, Sophie Kuchta, Kenley Flaming, Blakelyn Meyer, Caidynce Worlein, Harlow Gerdes and Brystol Bermel.