TMB got its bats going right away in the first game, and outhit the Lakers 12-4 in game 1. Lakeview turned things around in the second game with the help of its baserunning, stealing 10 bases led by Kiara Hinz’s three. Adison and Taylor Hinz also each had two.

Melaina Ankrum led TMB offensively with two triples in the first game, going 3 for 5 with a pair of RBIs. Gretchen Lanoue pitched a complete game, finishing with two strikeouts while allowing four hits, two earned runs and three walks in her seven innings.

“I thought our first game, we played really well in all three phases of the game. I felt we like Gretchen pitched really well for us, and we were making plays behind her, playing defensively really well,” TMB head coach Karl Campbell said. “We were hitting the ball really well, so everything was clicking. I knew Lakeview’s got a pretty good team, and I was really pleased with how we came out and hit the ball right out of the gate.”

For Lakeview, Avery Hinz spent the first five innings in the circle and tossed three strikeouts while allowing three walks, five earned runs and 11 hits. Makenna Anderson relieved the final two innings, throwing two strikeouts with one walk, one hit and one earned run.

Photo by Samantha Davis: Tracy-Milroy-Balaton's Bella Martinez slides into home to score a run during a doubleheader against Lakeview Monday night in Cottonwood.

Kiara Hinz went 3 for 4 with two RBIs in the second game to help the Lakers’ come back. Emma Brusven pitched all seven innings as well, throwing two strikeouts while allowing nine hits, one earned run and two walks.

“The message between the first game and the second game, and again after the second game, I iterated with our girls that we need to play with intensity,” Lakeview junior varsity coach Jamie Anderson said, who was stepping in for head coach Linnea Stibbe. “We need to be going after every ball, not giving up on balls, having a lot of effort towards our infield and outfield play, and then just being aggressive and being confident at the plate.”

Lanoue pitched a majority of the second game as well, the final 4 1/3 innings. She finished with two strikeouts, allowing four hits, two walks and a pair of earned runs.

Ankrum started before being relieved, and tossed two strikeouts while allowing no hits, two earned runs and seven walks in her 2 2/3 innings.

Lakeview (2-3) will next look ahead to hosting Dawson-Boyd on Thursday with a 4:30 p.m. first pitch.

Photo by Samantha Davis: Lakeview's Kiara Hinz catches a throw at second base during a doubleheader against Tracy-Milroy-Balaton Monday night in Cottonwood.

TMB (2-1) will stay on the road and travel over to Murray County Central (1-1) with a 4:30 p.m. first pitch.

GAME 1

TMB 11, Lakeview 2

Tracy-Milroy-Balaton was quick to get on the board, and had efficient play with performance at the plate, defense and baserunning.

The Panthers hit three back-to-back RBIs to take a 3-0 edge in their first at-bat in the top of the first inning. Lanoue hit the first RBI on a double to run in Braelynn Kirk to get the scoring started. Kirk initially walked to reach base.

Photo by Samantha Davis: Tracy-Milroy-Balaton's Gretchen Lanoue (left) successfully makes a tag-out at second base with a throw down from Piper Freeburg in a doubleheader against Lakeview Monday night in Cottonwood.

Aliyah Loftness followed that up with a hard hit to deep right field for a triple, scoring Lanoue. Loftness found herself home shortly after following a ground ball into short right field from Piper Freeburg before the Lakers could finish the final out.

TMB added another pair of runs in the second inning, after getting back to the plate with finishing three quick outs on defense.

The Panthers’ defense especially shined throughout the game, particularly with plays made in the infield.

“When you have a very well-sound defensive team and your bats are hitting directly at the players, or for instance, they [TMB] just made good plays, that’s just a hard thing to overcome as an offensive team,” coach Anderson said.

Bella Martinez and Alli Dolan accounted for the two runs in the second inning to give TMB a 5-0 lead. Martinez, getting on base with a single fly ball to center field, ran home on a passed ball after getting to third base with back-to-back sacrifice hits from Rosa Vang and Kirk.

Photo by Samantha Davis: Lakeview's Avery Hinz (right) catches an infield fly ball against Tracy-Milroy-Balaton Monday night in Cottonwood.

Dolan then hit a single, eventually charging home with a Ankrum triple on a fly ball nearly to the fence of deep right field.

Ankrum also hit another triple to the same spot in the seventh inning.

Continuing the trend, TMB added another two runs in the third inning. Both Kaylie Danielson and Aryiana Schultz scored on an Avery Torgeson hit following a Lakers’ throwing error.

Danielson was courtesy running for Loftness, as Schultz was running for Freeburg.

Lakeview had a defensive highlight to end the third inning, with TMB attempting to steal home a slightly passed ball. Adison Hinz, the Lakers’ catcher, kept the ball infront of her and flipped the ball up to Avery Hinz after coming to cover home plate for the tag.

Photo by Samantha Davis: Tracy-Milroy-Balaton's Piper Freeburg connects for a hit in a doubleheader against Lakeview Monday night in Cottonwood.

The Lakers scored a run in the bottom of the fourth to cut into a 7-1 deficit, with Avery Hinz getting home on an Adison Hinz infield sacrifice fly.

The Panthers didn’t lose a beat, scoring another three runs in the fifth, and finished off the first game in comfortable fashion. Lakeview was also hurt by its errors, committing six while TMB finished with one.

BOX SCORE

TMB BATTING

B. Kirk: 0-2, 2R, 3BB; A. Dolan: 2-5, R, RBI; M. Ankrum: 3-5, 2RBI; G. Lanoue: 2-5, R, RBI; A. Loftness: 1-3, R, RBI; P. Freeburg: 2-4, R, RBI; A. Torgeson: 0-3, 2RBI; B. Martinez: 1-4, 2R; R. Vang: 1-2, 2R, BB.

TMB PITCHING

G. Lanoue: 7 IP, 2 SO, 3BB, 2R, 4H.

LAKEVIEW BATTING

K. Hinz: 1-4, R; Avery Hinz: R, 3BB; Adison H: 1-2, RBI; P. Walker: 1-3; M. Velde: 1-3.

LAKEVIEW PITCHING

Avery Hinz: 5 IP, 3 SO, 11H, 10R, 3BB; M. Anderson: 2 IP, 2 SO, H, R, BB.

GAME 2

Lakeview 7, TMB 4

Lakeview got its revenge in the second game with a strong effort at the plate, connecting more with the ball this time around.

TMB still had a string of impressive defensive plays, including a handful of tagouts at the plate throughout the game by Freeburg, the Panthers’ catcher. Her first one of the game came right away in the top of the first inning, and she also put together a double play by throwing to first after her tagout.

“Piper has worked her tail off the first three games. She’s blocking better than she was a year ago, she’s throwing some people out, making some plays that we need her to make,” Campbell said. “She played a really good double header as well.”

The Panthers were the first to get on the board with a run in the bottom of the first, after Dolan ran home off an Ankrum RBI single. Dolan first reached base on a hard ground ball to right field.

The Lakers took their lead behind a big three-run third inning, taking advantage of TMB’s momentary pitching struggles. Kiara and Taylor Hinz both scored on a wild pitch, while Avery Hinz also took home off a Panthers’ error on the same play of Taylor stealing home.

“We started out with the first pitcher from Tracy [Ankrum] … We had patience with her in our batting, then Lanoue came back in and pitched the end of that second game, which we had already seen her pitches. So, we were used to what she was throwing. We adjusted well from the first game and took it into the second,” coach

Anderson said.

TMB ended the rally behind another Freeburg tagout at the plate, a fielder’s choice to third and an infield fly caught by Lanoue.

Campbell made a pitching change back to Lanoue during the inning with two outs. He said he resorted back to Lanoue because of her strong performance in the first game and kept her in as she kept up much of the same tempo. He also cited that the Panthers’ have a deeper pitching staff this season than last year as a positive note.

The Panthers weren’t done fighting, and took back a one-run lead, 4-3, with a trio of runs in the fifth inning. Kirk scored on another Ankrum RBI, while both Ankrum and Lanoue charged home on a Loftness two-run RBI single.

Yet, Lakeview ultimately had enough of a response with two more runs in each the sixth and seventh to take back the lead and hold onto it for the win.

The game-tying run came from Paige Walker off a Kiara Hinz hit, 4-4, as Anderson gave Lakeview back the lead on a Taylor Hinz RBI.

Adison Hinz and Anderson scored in the seventh to finish off the win, both on an RBI from Teegan Fiene and Kiara Hinz, respectively.

“We had a chance. There was a number of close plays that didn’t go our way … But that’s going to happen, and you got to find a way to play through that and overcome those things. Our girls kept competing,” Campbell said. “You’re going to lose once in a while, you’re going to lose tight games where things don’t really bounce your way. We only really had one inning where we really struggled early.”

BOX SCORE

TMB BATTING

B. Kirk: 1-4, R; A. Dolan: 2-4, R; M. Ankrum: 1-4. R, RBI; G. Lanoue: 1-4, R; B. Martinez: 1-3; R. Vang: 1-1, 2BB.

TMB PITCHING

M. Ankrum: 2.2 IP, 2 SO, 3R, 7BB; G. Lanoue: 4.1 IP, 2 SO, 4H, 4R, 2BB; G. Lanoue: 4.1 IP, 2 SO, 4H, 4R, 2BB.

LAKEVIEW BATTING

K. Hinz: 3-4, 2RBI, R, BB; T. Hinz: 2-4, R, RBI, BB; Avery Hinz: 0-2, R, 2BB; E. Brusven: 0-2, BB; Adison Hinz: 0-1, R; P. Walker: 1-3; M. Anderson: 1-2, 2R, 2BB; K. Gawarecki: 0-3, BB; T. Fiene: 1-3, RBI, BB.

LAKEVIEW PITCHING

E. Brusven: 7 IP, 2 SO, 2BB, 9H, 4R.

Photo by Samantha Davis: Lakeview's Emma Brusven throws a pitch in the second game of doubleheader against Tracy-Milroy-Balaton Monday night in Cottonwood.

Photo by Samantha Davis: Tracy-Milroy-Balaton head coach Karl Campbell (left) congratulates Aliyah Loftness (right) after hitting a triple in a doubleheader against Lakeview Monday night in Cottonwood.