Seven games close Panthers' regular season
Panther rightfielder Megan James runs in to make a catch during the June 25 home doubleheader against Cascade. The Panthers wore pink jerseys to promote breast cancer awareness. (Photos by Pete Temple)
Taylor McDonald (left) and Lauren Ries release balloons to promote breast cancer awareness between games of the Cascade doubleheader.
Monticello had a hectic end to its high school softball regular season, playing a total of seven games and winning three of them.
The Panthers (10-7, 13-15) were scheduled to open postseason play with a regional quarterfinal game Tuesday, July 3 at Mount Vernon; results will appear in the Express next week.
Monticello opened last week by splitting a home doubleheader with Cascade, losing the first game 5-3 and winning the second one 6-0.
“We’re just looking for that consistency,” Monticello coach Bret McDonald said, “I’d say all the way around. It’s something that we’ve struggled with all year.”
The Panthers led the first game 3-2 through five innings, but three Cascade runs in the top of the sixth put the Cougars ahead to stay. Monticello did collect 10 hits, including a solo home run by Tori McDonald. Aspen Gillmore was 3-for-4 with two doubles. Lauren Ries was 2-for-4.
“We played pretty well, but we left too many opportunities out there,” coach McDonald said.
Caitlyn Cruise was the losing pitcher in the first game, but bounced back to pitch a three-hit shutout in the nightcap, allowing just one walk. Her teammates backed her up, particularly with a four-run fourth inning. Reese Cox hit a home run and finished 2-for-3 with two runs batted in. Ries also went 2-for-3.
“Caitlyn really did a good job of limiting their hitters, and the defense played well,” the coach said.
On June 28, the Panthers had similar results in a doubleheader at Bellevue, losing the first game 9-5 and rebounding to win the second one 8-2. In the opener, Cox went 2-for-2, and Ries was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Cruise pitched and took the loss.
The Panthers had just six hits in the second game, but turned those into eight runs, including a four-run sixth inning. Tori McDonald had a home run and three RBIs. Cox went 2-for-3 and knocked in two runs. Jaelynn Kraus pitched all seven innings to get the win, allowing one earned run on six hits and striking out four.
“We’ve really been trying, with two strikes and less than two outs, to have a good at bat, moving the runner,” coach McDonald said. “In a couple of these close games, we didn’t do that.”
Monticello closed its week with three games at the Northeast Tournament June 30 in Goose Lake. The Panthers won one of the three games, losing 5-3 in eight innings to Fort Madison, beating Maquoketa 6-3, and falling 7-2 to Western Dubuque.
Against Fort Madison, the Panthers trailed 3-0 but scored three times in the bottom of the sixth inning to tie it. The 3-3 score held until Fort Madison scored twice in the eighth. Monticello was held to two hits, including a two-run homer by Kraus. Cruise pitched and took the loss.
Kraus was the winning pitcher as the Panthers came back with a 6-3 win over Maquoketa. They scored twice in the first inning and four times in the second, and that was the difference. Kraus helped her own cause by batting 3-for-4. Taylor McDonald was 2-for-4.
The final game was a 7-2, five-inning loss to Western Dubuque, in which the Bobcats scored four runs in the top of the fifth inning to break the game open. The Panthers had two hits. Cruise was the losing pitcher.
June 25
Cascade 5, Monticello 3
(first game)
MONTICELLO AB R H BI
McDonald, Ta. cf 4 0 0 0
Gillmore lf 4 2 3 0
Hansen, S. 1b 3 0 1 1
Ries 2b 4 0 2 1
Kraus 3b 4 0 0 0
Fellinger c 3 0 1 0
McDonald, To. ss 3 1 2 1
Cox dh 3 0 1 0
James rf 0 0 0 0
Cruise p 3 0 0 0
Totals 31 3 10 3
Cascade 101 003 0 – 5 9 1
Monticello 100 110 0 – 3 10 1
HR – To. McDonald.
2B – Gillmore 2.
Monticello IP H R ER BB SO
Cruise (L, 8-8) 7 9 5 5 2 5
Totals 7 9 5 5 2 5
Monticello 6, Cascade 0
(second game)
MONTICELLO AB R H BI
Kraus 3b 4 1 1 0
McDonald, Ta. cf 2 0 1 0
Gillmore lf 4 0 0 0
Ries 2b 3 1 2 1
Hansen, S. 1b 2 0 0 0
McDonald, To. ss 3 1 0 0
Fellinger c 2 0 1 1
Cox dh 3 2 2 2
Cruise p 0 0 0 0
James rf 1 0 0 0
Hansen, P. cr 0 1 0 0
Totals 24 6 7 4
Cascade 000 000 0 – 0 3 2
Monticello 100 401 x – 6 7 0
HR – Cox.
SB – Ta. McDonald 2.
Monticello IP H R ER BB SO
Cruise (W, 9-8) 7 3 0 0 1 1
Totals 7 3 0 0 1 1
June 28
Bellevue 9, Monticello 5
(first game)
MONTICELLO AB R H BI
Hansen, S. 1b 3 0 0 0
McDonald, Ta. cf 3 1 1 1
Kraus 3b 4 0 1 0
Ries 2b 4 0 2 2
Gillmore lf 4 0 0 0
Fellinger c 4 1 1 0
McDonald, To. ss 2 1 1 0
Cox dh 2 1 2 0
Cruise p 2 1 0 0
James rf 0 0 0 0
Totals 28 5 8 3
Monticello 000 500 0 – 5 8 1
Bellevue 103 023 0 – 9 10 1
2B – Ries.
SB – Ta. McDonald 2, Kraus.
Monticello IP H R ER BB SO
Cruise (L, 9-9) 6 10 9 7 3 5
Totals 6 10 9 7 3 5
Monticello 8, Bellevue 2
(second game)
MONTICELLO AB R H BI
McDonald, To. ss 3 2 1 3
McDonald, Ta. cf 3 0 1 0
Ries 2b 3 0 0 0
Kraus p 3 1 1 1
Hansen, S. 1b 4 1 0 0
Hansen, P. cr 0 1 0 0
Gillmore lf 4 1 0 0
Cox dh 3 1 2 2
Fellinger c 4 0 0 0
James 3b 3 1 1 1
Cruise rf 0 0 0 0
Totals 30 8 6 7
Monticello 100 104 2 – 8 6 1
Bellevue 000 010 1 – 2 6 2
HR – To. McDonald.
2B – Cox, James.
SB – Ta. McDonald, Gillmore, Cox.
Monticello IP H R ER BB SO
Kraus (W, 3-4) 7 6 2 1 4 4
Totals 7 6 2 1 4 4
June 30
Northeast Tournament
Fort Madison 5, Monticello 3
(eight innings)
MONTICELLO AB R H BI
McDonald, To. ss 4 1 0 0
McDonald, Ta. cf 3 1 0 0
Ries 2b 3 0 0 1
Kraus 3b 2 1 1 2
Hansen, S. 1b 4 0 1 0
Gillmore lf 1 0 0 0
Cox dh 1 0 0 0
Fellinger c 3 0 0 0
James rf 3 0 0 0
Cruise p 0 0 0 0
Totals 24 3 2 3
Fort Madison 100 011 02 – 5 6 0
Monticello 000 003 00 – 3 2 2
HR – Kraus.
SB – Ta. McDonald.
Monticello IP H R ER BB SO
Cruise (L, 9-10) 8 6 5 3 0 2
Totals 8 6 5 3 0 2
Monticello 6, Maquoketa 3
MONTICELLO AB R H BI
McDonald, To. c 4 2 1 1
McDonald, Ta. ss 4 2 2 1
Ries 2b 4 0 0 0
Kraus p 4 0 3 1
Hansen, S. 1b 4 0 0 0
Gillmore cf 3 0 0 0
Cox rf 2 1 1 0
Fellinger dh 3 0 0 0
Steiner 3b 3 1 0 1
Cruise lf 0 0 0 0
Hansen, P. cr 0 0 0 0
Totals 31 6 7 4
Monticello 240 000 0 – 6 7 2
Maquoketa 210 010 0 – 3 8 2
SB – Ta. McDonald.
Monticello IP H R ER BB SO
Kraus (W, 4-4) 7 8 3 1 2 4
Totals 7 8 3 1 2 4
W. Dubuque 7, Monticello 2
(five innings)
MONTICELLO AB R H BI
McDonald, To. ss 3 1 0 0
Ries 2b 2 0 0 0
McDonald, Ta. cf 3 1 1 0
Kraus 3b 3 0 1 2
Hansen, S. 1b 2 0 0 0
Gillmore lf 3 0 0 0
Cox dh 3 0 0 0
Fellinger c 1 0 0 0
Cruise p 0 0 0 0
James rf 0 0 0 0
Hansen, P. rf 0 0 0 0
Totals 20 2 2 2
W. Dubuque 012 04 – 7 3 0
Monticello 002 00 – 2 2 3
SB – Ta. McDonald, Cruise.
Monticello IP H R ER BB SO
Cruise (L, 9-11) 4 2 4 3 5 1
Kraus 1 1 2 2 1 0
Totals 5 3 6 5 6 1
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