Alli Burke Triples, Drives in Three as Hawks Survive Scare

Gilman City’s softball team survived a scare from Mercer as Alli Burke tripled and drove in three, overcoming nine errors and traffic on the basepaths all night as the Hawks broke open the conference game late for a 7-3 win Tuesday, September 8^th.

With one out in the top of the first, Hailey McClure reached first on an error, took second on defensive indifference, and Alli Burke grounded out to move her to third. Avery Chadwick reached first on an error to score her to put Gilman City up 1-0. The score was stuck there until Mercer, cooping with Ridgeway and Cainsville this year, tied the game in the third when Zoe Fisher grounded out to score Avarie Thompson.

Once again, it was Hailey McClure who sparked the Hawks. In the fourth, she singled to center, and the cutoff throw got away, allowing her to go all the way to third. Alli Burke singled to right to break the tie. Hawk pitcher Tenley Griffith picked off Jalyn Cain at second in the Cardinal fourth, but Lily Stark later scored on a passed ball to tie it 2-2.

Emmery Smith lined to left for a single to start the Hawk fifth. Caitlynn Chalfant grounded out to advance her to second. Tenley Griffith doubled to score her to break the tie to make it 3-2.

Gilman City finally broke open the game in the seventh when the bottom of the order came through. Caitlynn Chalfant got an infield single, and Parker Crabtree beat out a bunt. Tenley Griffith walked to load the bases. Mercer nearly got out of the inning as Hailey McClure struck out, and Caitlynn Chalfant was picked off third. But Alli Burke tripled to right to score two and circled the bases when the ball got away to make it 6-2. Avery Chadwick singled to center. Nova Smith singled to right to put Chadwick on third. Kayleece Puls reached first on an error to score Chadwick to make it 7-2.

But the Hawks made things interesting in the Cardinal seventh, with three errors leading to a run before Tenley Griffith finally got a groundout to close the door.

Nova Smith, Hailey McClure Have Big Nights as Hawks Win 20-2

Gilman City turned into road warriors again for the second straight night. The night after making a long trip to Plattsburg to collect a big win, they went on the road again to Linn County to collect another. They looked in control, up 7-2 going into the sixth, when they erupted for 13 runs to go home early 20-2. Emmery Smith made her varsity pitching debut, striking out two batters in one inning to finish the game. Nova Smith had a big night, going 3 for 5 with a double, three runs scored, and two RBI. Hailey McClure had three hits, two doubles, a run scored, and four RBI. Tenley Griffith threw 67 pitches, 56 for strikes in getting the win.

Parker Crabtree started off the Hawk first with a walk. Alli Burke and Avery Chadwick singled to load the bases. Nova Smith grounded into a force at home, but Linn County threw the ball away trying to complete the double play, allowing Alli Burke and Avery Chadwick to score to make it 2-0.

Caitlynn Chalfant walked to start the Hawk second. She took second on a passed ball. Hailey McClure doubled to center to put Gilman City up 3-0.

Avery Chadwick singled to left to start the Hawk third; the ball got away, allowing her to take second. Nova Smith reached first on an error as Avery Chadwick scored from second. Kayleece Puls walked. Emmery Smith said down a sacrifice bunt to advance Nova Smith to third and Kayleece Puls to second. Caitlynn Chalfant reached first on an error, scoring Nova Smith to make it 5-0.

Nova Smith singled to start the Hawk fifth. Kameron Mars (running for Smith) stole second. Kayleece Puls grounded out, advancing Mars to third. Emmery Smith singled to left to score Mars to make it 6-0. Caitlynn Chalfant walked. Hailey McClure doubled to center to plate Emmery Smith to make it 7-0.

Linn County took advantage of an error to get two runs back to make it 7-2 after five.

Avery Chadwick reached second on a pop fly that was dropped. Nova Smith singled her to third. Kayleece Puls singled to left, scoring Chadwick to make it 8-2. Chadwick was safe on the throw home as Puls took second and Smith third. Emmery Smith and Caitlynn Chalfant walked, forcing in Nova Smith to make it 9-2. Hailey McClure singled to center as Emmery Smith and Kayleece Puls scored to make it 11-2. Tenley Griffith walked. Caitlynn Chalfant scored on a passed ball to make it 12-2. Parker Crabtree beat out an infield hit to score McClure to make it 13-2. Alli Burke walked. Tenley Griffith scored on a passed ball, putting Crabtree at third. Avery Chadwick reached on a dropped fly ball as Parker Crabtree scored to make it 15-2. Nova Smith doubled to score Alli Burke and Avery Chadwick to make it 17-2. Kayleece Puls and Emmery Smith singled to score Nova Smith to make it 18-2. Caitlynn Chalfant reached on an error to score Kayleece Puls to make it 19-2. Hailey McClure reached on a dropped pop fly and Tenley Griffith walked, forcing in Emmery Smith to make it 20-2.

Tenley Griffith Tosses No-Hitter, Alli Burke Homers in 19-1 Hawk Win

After a disappointing tournament in Albany to start the season, Gilman City unloaded on Plattsburg 19-1 Wednesday to get back on the winning track. Tenley Griffith had a no-hitter, while Alli Burke had three hits and went deep for the Hawks. Gilman City had 18 hits and nine different Hawks had hits. Plattsburg has had a solid team for many years, but they have fallen on hard times this year.

Tenley Griffith doubled to start the game and stole third, getting the first of three steals for the night. Alli Burke hit a home run to left field, and the floodgates opened for the Hawks.

Avery Chadwick singled to left and the ball got away, allowing her to advance to second. Chadwick took third on a wild pitch. Parker Crabtree hit a pop fly that dropped in for a base hit as Chadwick scored to make it 3-0. Parker took second on a wild pitch and third on Kayleece Puls’ grounder. Emmery Smith walked. Caitlynn Chalfant singled in Parker Crabtree to make it 4-0 as Smith took second.

Kameron Mars made a catch in the field for the Hawks to keep Plattsburg off the basepaths.

Tenley Griffith doubled to center to start the Hawk second. Griffith stole third and Alli Burke singled her home to make it 5-0. Parker Crabtree beat out an infield hit to put Burke on second. Kayleece Puls doubled to left to score Burke to make it 6-0 and put Crabtree on third. Emmery Smith walked for the second time. Parker Crabtree scored on a passed ball as Kayleece Puls took third and Emmery Smith took second. Caitlynn Chalfant singled to right to score Smith and Puls to make it 9-0. Hailey McClure and Tenley Griffith singled to load the bases. Nova Smith walked to force in a run to make it 10-0. Hailey McClure scored on a wild pitch to make it 11-0 as Tenley Griffith took third. Alli Burke walked. Avery Chadwick hit a shot off the pitcher’s glove and everyone was safe as Tenley Griffith scored to make it 12-0.

Elizabeth Love reached on an error and stole second. Juliet Brandon had an apparent single to right as Love crossed home for the first run to make it 12-1. But Hailey McClure showed off her rocket launcher arm, nailing Brandon at first to preserve the no-hitter.

Kayleece Puls singled to left. Emmery Smith singled to center, and the ball got away, putting Puls on third and Smith on second. Caitlynn Chalfant reached on a dropped fly as Puls scored to make it 13-1 and Smith took third. Emily Chalfant walked to load the bases. Tenley Griffith singled to right to score Smith to make it 14-1. Nova Smith singled to center to score Emily Chalfant and Caitlynn Chalfant to make it 16-1. Alli Burke singled to left to score Griffith and put Nova Smith on third. Avery Chadwick reached second on a dropped fly ball. Nova Smith scored and Alli Burke took third. Parker Crabtree grounded out to score Burke to make it 19-1. Tenley Griffith shut down Plattsburg in the bottom of the third, and Gilman City got to go home early.

Kameron Mars, Hawks Show Resilience, Salvage Final Game at Albany

Against North Harrison, the Hawks dug themselves into an 11-3 hole. But this time, they fought their way back to get a 15-11 win to salvage the final game of the tournament.

The first inning belonged to the Shamrocks as Burke suddenly started fighting the strike zone and walked four batters in the inning. Jaxcynn Hansel scored on a wild pitch to put North Harrison up 1-0. Raegan Hogan doubled to score Addison Milligan and Ava Rinehart to make it 3-0. Hali Smith and Hogan scored on wild pitches to make it 5-0. Becca Welling beat out an infield hit to score Shayla Vandiver to make it 6-0. It would have been worse had not Hawk center fielder Hailey McClure came flying out of nowhere to snatch Lani Briggs’ pop fly behind the shortstop position and second base for the final out.

Tenley Griffith walked to start the Hawk first and took second and third on wild pitches. Kameron Mars showed her value to her new team by putting pressure on the defense as she flew down the line after a ground ball and forced an error, scoring Griffith. She later came around to score on a wild pitch to make it 6-2.

In the Shamrock second, Ava Rinehart nearly had a home run, but got a ground-rule double after the ball short-hopped the fence. She later scored on a dropped fly ball to put North Harrison up 7-2.

Emmery Smith walked and took second on a wild pitch. Nova Smith singled her home to cut the Hawk deficit to 7-3.

North Harrison built up a seemingly insurmountable lead in the third, scoring four runs with two outs. Shayla Vandiver walked. Becca Welling and Lani Briggs advanced her to third with groundouts. Jaxcynn Hansel walked. At that point, Tenley Griffith replaced Alli Burke on the mound. Throughout the first three games, Coach Lisle was moving a lot of people around, trying to find something that worked. At first, it looked like more of the same as Hansel stole second and Addison Milligan singled down the right field line to score two to make it 9-3. Ava Rinehart shot a double over Griffith’s outstretched glove to score Milligan and came home on Hali Smith’s single to make it 11-3.

But then Griffith suddenly settled down and showed off the form that made her successful last year, shutting down the potent Shamrock lineup the rest of the way. Meanwhile, the Hawks began their comeback bid after Alli Burke shot a line drive off shortstop Ava Rinehart’s glove into left field for a base hit. Avery Chadwick shot a single just past third to put runners on first and second. They took second and third on a wild pitch. Parker Crabtree grounded to pitcher Hali Smith, who cut down Burke trying to score for the first out as Chadwick took third and Crabtree first. Kayleece Puls walked to load the bases. Emmery Smith walked to force in a run. Hailey McClure singled to center to score Parker Crabtree and Kayleece Puls to make it 11-6. Tenley Griffith singled to score Emmery Smith and Hailey McClure to make it 11-8. Tenley went from first to third on a wild pitch and scored on Kameron Mars’ shot off the second baseman’s glove to make it 11-9.

Aided by a diving grab by Chadwick behind the plate, Gilman kept the Shamrocks off the board in the fourth.

Chadwick reached third on an error and Parker Crabtree walked. Kayleece Puls hit a pop fly that looked like trouble, but Hali Smith, playing in center field, made a running grab behind short. Chadwick tagged up and scored on the play to make it 11-10. An error and a walk loaded the bases, and Tenley Griffith walked to force in Parker Crabtree to tie it up at 11. Kameron Mars singled to break the tie and score Puls to make it 12-11. Alli Burke nearly had a home run, but singled off the wall to score Emmery Smith and Nova Smith. Tenley Griffith scored on a wild pitch to make it 15-11. 

Gilman City, Tri-County to Coop in Three Sports

Gilman City will coop in three different sports with Tri-County, both schools announced Thursday, effective with the 26-27 season. They will coop in softball, basketball, and baseball. Gilman City will oversee softball, basketball, and junior high softball. Tri-County will oversee junior high basketball and varsity baseball.

 

Kayleece Puls Gets Double, Triple in Hawk District Win Over Pattonsburg

Gilman City extended its school record with its 16th win Thursday and held off a dangerous Pattonsburg squad 6-3 to advance in district play to face Albany. In the first meeting between the teams, Pattonsburg had crushed the Hawks, but Gilman City kept their errors to a minimum this time and kept mistakes from snowballing into big innings.

After making no errors until the game was decided the first time, Pattonsburg made two in the first inning this time. Khloey Sperry apparently struck out, but the ball got away from catcher Isabella Burger and she reached first safely. Avery Gregg hit a pop fly in no-man’s land between the mound and shortstop and it dropped in for a base hit as Sperry took second. Tenley Griffith popped out. Alli Burke struck out, but on the play, Sperry stole third and Gregg second. Kayleece Puls hit a towering drive into the lights in left field. Claire Christensen lost it in the lights and it dropped in as two runs scored and the Hawks took a lead they would not relinquish.

Isabella Burger answered in the bottom of the first with a blast to center field for a home run. It was her third career home run.

Cheyenne Miller caught Caitlynn Chalfant’s line drive in the second and Kaitlyn Estes, who had carried Pattonsburg so often with her bat, did so with her glove as she made a diving grab of Ellie Smith’s pop fly to keep the Hawks off the board.

Rosalynn Cameron hit a drive into the gap in right-center, but Avery Gregg made a running catch to take extra bases away in the Panther second.

With two outs, Kayleece Puls hit the first of two big blows as she crushed a double into the left-center field gap. Parker Crabtree hit a pop fly over third base that dropped in for a base hit; Puls, off on contact with two outs, scored. Caitlynn Chalfant walked and Emily Chalfant hit a sinking line drive to the backhand side of Cheyenne Miller at second that dropped in fair for a double as Crabtree scored to make it 4-1.

Hawk pitcher Tenley Griffith was missing a lot with her outside pitches, but got a lot of strikeouts as Pattonsburg was chasing her high heat. Cheyenne Miller nearly had a base hit as her pop fly behind first dropped in just foul. Jayden Goble roped one into the right-center field cap, but once again, Avery Gregg ran it down for an out.

With one out in the fifth, Rosalynn Cameron caught hold of a high pitch and singled to right-center. Cheyenne Miller forced her at second, but Jayden Goble hit a fly ball that left fielder Hailey McClure couldn’t get to. It caromed off her knee brace and rolled all the way into right field as Goble reached third and Miller scored to make it 4-2.

It looked like the Panthers would get a big inning in the sixth after Isabelle Burger got jammed and hit a pop fly just fair over Parker Crabtree’s head at second. Kaitlyn Estes beat out a grounder into the hole at short, and Emsleigh McCrary hit a high chopper that somehow found its way into center for another base hit. Avery Gregg made a great stop to keep a run from scoring.

With the bases loaded and nobody out, Vanessa Weigand struck out chasing Tenley Griffith’s high heat, as did Kara Bernardino.  Six out of Griffith’s seven strikeouts were from batters chasing her high heat. Rosalynn Cameron hit a pop fly that looked like it would drop in no-man’s land, but Avery Gregg made a running catch behind second to get the Hawks out of the inning with no damage done.

With one out in the Hawk seventh, Alli Burke caught hold of a high and outside pitch from Addie Iddings and crushed one into right field. Kara Bernardino, playing in her last softball game as a Panther, made a great play to hold Burke to a single. Kayleece Puls got her second big blow, hitting a triple to left field as Burke scored. The throw home got away and Puls came in to score as well, making it 6-2.

In the Panther seventh, Cheyenne Miller hit a hot shot off Tenley Griffith’s glove that nearly got away from her, but she recovered in time to get her on a close play. Jayden Goble beat out Kayleece Puls’ throw from short and reached second when the throw got into the dugout. Addie Iddings grounded out to advance Goble to third. Isabelle Burger walked to bring up the tying run to the plate in Kaitlyn Estes. She crushed one to the right field wall, but Ellie Smith made a great play to get it in and Estes was held to a single as Burger took second. Emsleigh McCrary went after the first pitch, but popped it out to Caitlynn Chalfant in foul territory for the final out.

 

Alli Burke Goes Deep, Kayleece Puls Gets Two Hits, Hawks Play Errorless Ball in Win

Alli Burke went deep and Kayleece Puls had a big night at the plate Monday as Gilman City won its 15th game and dropped Gallatin 6-1 in its last game before districts. The game denied Gallatin a winning season; Gallatin has had quality wins over Lafayette, South Harrison, and Princeton. They have also taken Albany to 15 innings. But they also went through a stretch where they lost eight out of nine.

Tenley Griffith shut down Brynn Bird, Gallatin’s prize hitter, holding her hitless. Gallatin only got three hits. Griffith only struck out three batters, but got a lot of soft contact and balls hit right at people. She only needed 83 pitches to get through seven innings, throwing 50 strikes.

With one out in the first, Avery Gregg reached on an error, took second on a passed ball, and Tenley Griffith singled her home to make it 1-0. Griffith took second on the throw home. Kayleece Puls got the first of her two hits after a 7-pitch at bat, getting a single to center to plate Griffith to make it 2-0.

Second baseman Parker Crabtree and shortstop Kayleece Puls made catches in the field in the Gallatin first. Center fielder Avery Gregg snagged a screamer in the second.

Avery Gregg hit a shot off pitcher Brynn Bird and got a scratch hit. Tenley Griffith walked. Walks lead to runs and sure enough, Alli Burke turned on the first pitch she saw and crushed one over the center field fence to score three runs and put Gilman City in control up 5-0.

Gallatin got some traffic in the third as they tried to get back in the game, but Hawk catcher Khloey Sperry threw out a runner stealing third and right fielder Ellie Smith made a catch to end the frame. They got a leadoff single to start the fourth and a sac bunt to put her on second, but Kayleece Puls and Avery Gregg made catches in the field to strand her there.

Gallatin finally got on the board as a leadoff walk came back to bite Gilman City in the sixth. A double with one out made it 5-1, and the Bulldogs were finally making some noise. But Kayleece Puls and Avery Gregg made catches in the field and the Hawks were still in control.

Tenley Griffith walked to start the Hawk seventh. Alli Burke grounded out to advance her. Griffith took third on a wild pitch and Kayleece Puls flied out to score her as Gilman City got the run back.

Catcher Khloey Sperry and second baseman Parker Crabtree made catches in the field in the seventh to finish Gallatin.

Ten of Gallatin’s 21 outs were from catches in the field.

 

 

 

 

 

Tenley Griffith, Hawks Salvage Final Two Games of George Scurlock Tournament; Win School Record 14th Game

Led by the bat and the pitching of Tenley Griffith, Gilman City salvaged their last two games of the George Scurlock Tournament in Princeton Saturday and made strides along the way, even though the scoreboard didn't always show it. They won their 13th and 14th games of the year, assuring themselves of a winning season for the second year in a row. The focus of the team this year was learning to hit fast pitching, and they finally started doing it as the tournament progressed. 

After struggling for many years to even put a team on the field, struggling to win more than two games, and struggling to finish seasons, the Hawks have finally managed to turn things around. Starting with 2020, the COVID-19 year, the Hawks surprised everyone by turning around a dormant program by winning nine games that year and going 9-8. They won 12 games two years ago, 13 games last year with a winning season, and have 14 and counting this year. They have won their third straight HDC conference title. The Hawks have a strong junior high contingent coming up, so there is no reason to think it won't continue.

Last year, the Hawks won two games in a JV tournament at Putnam County; the MSHSAA website lists them as JV games. 

The week started off inauspiciously as the Hawks played a good game defensively, only committing three errors against a solid Putnam County team, but they only managed three hits in a 3-2 loss. They finally got going in the bottom of the seventh, scoring both their runs. Tenley Griffith had two hits and Khloey Sperry one. Griffith had a triple and a stolen base and did all she could with her arm as well, striking out a career-high 13 batters. 

Pitted against the host Princeton Tigers in the first game of the tournament Saturday, they jumped all over them in the first three innings, building a 5-0 lead. But Princeton drew the #2 seed in districts for a reason, they bounced right back to tie it in the fourth and walk it off in the fifth to win 7-6.

Avery Gregg had two hits. Khloey Sperry, Alli Burke, Kayleece Puls, and Emily Chalfant each had one. Alli Burke had a double, Avery Gregg had a triple, and Avery Gregg, Ellie Smith, Khloey Sperry, and Tenley Griffith each stole a base. 

In the second game, Lathrop jumped all over Gilman City early and often, scoring seven in the first and never looked back in getting a 14-3 win. Alli Burke and Caitlynn Chalfant were bright spots for the Hawk lineup, getting two hits each. Hailey McClure added one. Chalfant had a double. Avery Gregg had a steal. 

There was no rest for the weary as the Hawks had to play a rapidly improving Maysville squad, which gave Worth County all it could handle two nights previously. When Ellyette Sobotka reached on an error and stole second, it looked like another long game for the Hawks. Savannah Moyer reached on a dropped third strike as Sobotka took third and then Sobotka scored on a passed ball as Moyer took second. Madi DeShon reached second on an error as Moyer scored to make it 2-0. Sam Gripka grounded out as DeShon took third. Yet another Hawk error allowed Skylar Nalle to reach third and DeShon to score to make it 3-0. It looked like the Wolverines were well on their way.

But after playing one of their worst innings of the year, the Hawks turned around and played five of the best innings they've played all year, starting with the bottom of the first. Khloey Sperry turned on the first strike she saw, singling to start the frame. Sperry stole second and Avery Gregg singled her home to cut the deficit to 3-1. Tenley Griffith hit a line drive over the right field fence for a home run, and all of a sudden, the Hawks were back in the fight, tied at 3-3. 

Aurora Sweiger stretched a single into a double to start the Wolverine second, but Tenley Griffith struck out Paisley McClamroch. Ellyette Sobotka grounded to Kayleece Puls, who cut down Sweiger trying to advance to third. Griffith struck out Moyer to get the Hawks out of the inning. Maysville threatened again in the third, loading the bases with two outs. But then Gentry Sweiger tried to score on a passed ball and was thrown out stealing and the game remained tied.

Tenley Griffith grounded out to start the Hawk third, but then the error bug started to bite Maysville as Alli Burke reached on a dropped pop fly. She stole second and Kayleece Puls doubled to break the tie and put Gilman City up 4-3. Parker Crabtree reached on an error as Puls took third. Crabtree stole second and Kayleece Puls later scored on a passed ball as Crabtree took third. Caitlynn Chalfant flied out to right to score Crabtree to make it 6-3.

Maysville had more traffic in the fourth as Aurora Sweiger reached on an error, Ellyette Sobotka walked, and they took second and third on a passed ball with one out. But Tenley Griffith struck out Savannah Moyer and Gentry Sweiger grounded out to end the threat.

The Wolverines finally broke through in the fifth inning when Ashlyn Clark singled in Skylar Nalle to cut it to 6-4.

But then Gilman City got the bottom of their order to come through as Kayleece Puls singled to right and Parker Crabtree beat out an infield hit to put runners on first and second to start their half of the fifth. Caitlynn Chalfant grounded into a fielder's choice. Maysville tried to get the force at third, but Puls beat it out and everybody was safe. Hailey McClure flied out to center as Puls scored, Parker Crabtree took third, and Caitlynn Chalfant took second. Ellie Smith singled in Parker Crabtree as Caitlynn Chalfant took third. Ellie Smith stole second and the lineup turned over as Khloey Sperry beat out an infield hit. Caitlynn Chalfant scored to make it 9-4 and Ellie Smith took third. Sperry stole second and Tenley Griffith doubled home two more to make it 11-4.

The Hawks grabbed their school record 14th win with their last game of the afternoon, downing a dangerous La Plata squad 9-5. The Bulldogs had been streaky all year; they are capable of beating anyone on a given day and capable of losing to anyone on a given day. They dropped a game to South Shelby (2-20) one day, only to turn around and beat them 27-1 later the same day. They have broken the 10-run barrier nine times and the 20-run barrier four times. On the same day as this game, they beat Albany 3-1. 

Gilman City manufactured a run in the top of the first when Khloey Sperry reached on a dropped third strike. She stole second and third and scored on Tenley Griffith's sac fly to make it 1-0.

But then La Plata manufactured one of their own when Emmagin Travis reached on a bunt single. Ashlynn Lewis singled her to second and stole second. Travis scored on a passed ball to tie it at 1-1. Layne Mack grounded out to the mound as Lewis took third. Hannah Mitchell grounded out to score Lewis to put the Bulldogs in front 2-1. Two more errors threatened one of those snowball innings that La Plata has relied on all year, but Tenley Griffith struck out Macy Davidson after a long battle and the Hawks were still breathing.

Both teams went quietly in the second, but with one out in the third, Khloey Sperry reached on an error and stole second. Avery Gregg singled home Sperry to tie it at 2-2 and went to second on the unsuccessful throw home. Gregg took third on a passed ball and Tenley Griffith reached on a four-pitch walk. Griffith stole second and then Avery Gregg scored on a passed ball as Griffith took third. Alli Burke reached on an error as Tenley scored to make it 4-2. Kayleece Puls flied out for the second out, but then Burke stole second and Parker Crabtree reached on an error as Burke scored from second to make it 5-2. 

Gilman City got two batters out to start the Bulldog third as Avery Gregg made a catch in center. But then Tenley Griffith walked Layne Mack to keep the inning going. Walks lead to runs and sure enough, Hannah Mitchell doubled and Emma Ralston singled to cut it to 5-4 and the dangerous La Plate bats were coming to life. Ralston stole second and third and the tying run was 60 feet away. Macy Davidson hit a tricky grounder in front of the plate, but catcher Khloey Sperry threw her out and the Hawks were still in front.

The Bulldogs needed to get the eighth and ninth batters out in order to neutralize the heart of the Gilman City order, but that was not forthcoming as Emily Chalfant walked after being down in the count 1-2. Walks lead to runs and sure enough, Ellie Smith hit a pop fly single over second and Hailey McClure (running for Chalfant) scrambled safely to second. Khloey Sperry hit another pop fly that was just beyond the reach of the La Plate infielders and the bases were loaded. 

The table was set and Avery Gregg turned on the first pitch she saw, singling to right field to score Ellie Smith and Hailey McClure. Sperry took third and Gregg second on the throw home to make it 7-4. Tenley Griffith singled to right to score Gregg and Sperry to make it 9-4. 

Hailey McClure, who came in as a pinch runner in the top of the fourth, played lights-out defense in the bottom half, catching a line drive and a fly ball in left field. Khloey Sperry added a catch behind the plate to keep La Plata off the board. McClure once again carried the Hawks down the stretch; after La Plata used a double and an error to cut the lead to 9-5, she made a hustle play, snagging Hannah Mitchell's pop fly in foul territory for the second out. Caitlynn Chalfant snagged Emma Ralston's grounder for the final out to limit the damage.

Kayleece Puls made a catch in the field in the sixth as the Hawks worked around an error to lead off the inning.

Khloey Sperry, Tenley Griffith, Kayleece Puls Go Deep as Hawks Win HDC Tournament

Khloey Sperry and Tenley Griffith went deep the first game of the HDC Tournament Saturday, Kayleece Puls went deep the second game, and Gilman City ran the table at the tournament, beating Braymer 15-0 in the first game and East Harrison 8-1 in the second, avenging a regular season loss to the Bobcats. With the win, the Hawks have won four out of their last five going into a brutal stretch of games including Putnam County, the Goerge Shurlock Tournament in Princeton, and Gallatin.

In the Braymer game, Tenley Griffith tossed a two-hitter with eight strikeouts. The Hawks bashed out 11 hits. Khloey Sperry, Avery Gregg, Tenley Griffith, and Alli Burke all had two hits while Kayleece Puls, Caitlynn Chalfant, and Emily Chalfant all had one. Avery Gregg and Khloey Sperry had doubles. Alli Burke and Kayleece Puls had triples, and Tenley Griffith and Khloey Sperry went deep. The Hawks only committed one error on defense.

After Griffith worked around a one-out single in the first inning, Khloey Sperry led off the bottom of the first with an inside-the-park home run to make it 1-0, crushing it to left field and circling the bases. Avery Gregg singled to center and stole second, taking third as the ball got away. Tenley Griffith drew a walk on a 3-2 count and stole second. Kayleece Puls sacrificed and reached on an error as Avery Gregg scored and Tenley Griffith advanced to third. Tenley Griffith stole home.

Ellie Smith walked to start the second inning. Walks lead to runs and sure enough, Khloey Sperry doubled to left to put runners on second and third. Avery Gregg doubled to left and Smith and Sperry scored, with Gregg taking third on the throw home to make it 5-0. Tenley Griffith singled to center  to score Gregg to make it 6-0 and the ball got away as Griffith took second and third. Alli Burke tripled to center and scored Griffith to make it 7-0. Parker Crabtree grounded out to score Burke to make it 8-0.

With one out in the Bobcat third, Harper Hendley singled to left and the ball got away as Henley took third. Farrah Guffrey grounded to Tenley Griffith on the mound; she tried to pick off Hendley at third, but Hendley was safe and Guffrey reached on the fielder’s choice. But Griffith struck out the next two batters to get out of the inning.

Avery Gregg reached on an error to start the Hawk fourth and Tenley Griffith got an inside-the-park home run in the massive Tri-County field to make it 10-0. Alli Burke singled and then Kayleece Puls caught hold of the first pitch she saw and tripled to left to score Burke to make it 11-0. Parker Crabtree reached on an error as Puls scored to make it 12-0. Caitlynn Chalfant grounded to third. They tried to go to second for the force, but Crabtree was safe. They took second and third on a passed ball. Emily Chalfant singled to score Crabtree to make it 13-0 as Caitlynn Chalfant took third. Ellie Smith reached on an error as the last two runs scored to put Gilman City over the 15-run mark.

In the East Harrison game, Tenley Griffith set down a dangerous Bobcat lineup, holding Avarie Thompson, Sloane McClain, and Khloe Ponjavic, who had combined for 10 hits in the North Harrison game, to just one hit each. She fanned nine batters while Gilman City put together eight hits in the win and took advantage of key errors.

The Hawks had eight hits; they got three from Kayleece Puls, two from Alli Burke, and one each from Avery Gregg, Khloey Sperry, and Tenley Griffith. Khloey Sperry and Tenley Griffith had doubles while Kayleece Puls had a home run. Alli Burke and Avery Gregg stole bases. The Hawks played errorless ball in the field. For the day, they committed one after they committed several in the Pattonsburg loss.

Gilman City hit the ball hard in the first inning, but right at people. East Harrison wasted Avarie Thompson’s leadoff double as Avrey Gregg in center field and Emily Chalfant in left field made catches and Tenley Griffith struck out Aspen Zerbe to keep them off the board.

Alli Burke reached on an error to start the second inning when second baseman Addy McFall dropped her pop fly. Kayleece Puls singled to left and Burke went from first to third and was safe. Puls took second on the throw to third. Caitlyn Chalfant reached on another error as Puls and Burke scored to make it 2-0.

In the bottom of the second, Sloane McClain roped one hard, but right at Kayleece Puls at short. That meant Phoenix Ratliff’s single was harmless. Parker Crabtree made a catch at second to get the Hawks out of the inning.

Khloey Sperry started the third with a double to left. Avery Gregg reached second on an error as Sperry scored to make it 3-0. Gregg took third on a wild pitch and scored on a passed ball to make it 4-0.

East Harrison mounted a threat in the fourth when Lainey Thompson walked. She took second on a passed ball. Aspen Zerbe flied out to Gregg in center field. Sloane McClain beat out an infield hit as Thompson took third and all seemed set up for a big inning with Sloane on the basepaths. But the first of two outstanding defensive plays by the Hawks occurred when Thompson tried to come home on a passed ball and Tenley Griffith raced home to cover the throw from Sperry for the second out. McClain took second on the play. Sloane stole third and Phoenix Ratliff hit a tricky grounder between first and second. But first baseman Caitlynn Chalfant snagged it and threw to second baseman Parker Crabtree covering for the third out to keep them off the board.

With one out, Avery Gregg singled after fouling off five pitches and stole second. Tenley Griffith walked on a 3-2 count after fouling off two pitches. Walks lead to runs and sure enough, Alli Burke singled to left as Gregg scored and Griffith took third. Alli Burke took second on the throw. Kayleece Puls provided the dagger when she lined it into left field for an inside-the-park home run to make it 8-0.

Kayleece Puls made a catch at shortstop to prevent a one-run inning by the Bobcats into becoming a big inning. Taylor Whitaker tripled after fouling off four pitches and scored when Lainey Thompson singled to make it 8-1. Anything could happen with Sloane McClain coming up, but Tenley Griffith struck out Aspen Zerbe and McClain to get out of further trouble.

East Harrison had one last chance in the seventh. Phoenix Ratliff struck out after a seven-pitch at bat. Khloe Ponjavic beat out an infield hit, but Jalyn Cain grounded into a force at second. Griffith struck out Addy McFall on three pitches for the final out.