Fast start propels Lone Tree past Crusaders

By Jeff Yoder
Posted 7/7/21

Lone Tree traveled 70 miles south to open the postseason at Holy Trinity on Tuesday, but from the first pitch, the Lady Lions felt right at home. 

Lone Tree put up three runs in each of the …

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Fast start propels Lone Tree past Crusaders

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Lone Tree traveled 70 miles south to open the postseason at Holy Trinity on Tuesday, but from the first pitch, the Lady Lions felt right at home. 

Lone Tree put up three runs in each of the first two innings and led by at least six the rest of the way in a 10-4 win over the Crusaders. 

“I think getting that three-run cushion to start just gave us some momentum going forward,” Lone Tree coach Reid Kaalberg said.

“With our 1-2-3 hitters getting on right away and putting the pressure on, that's all I can ask of them. I'm very proud of our lineup, top to bottom.”

Lady Lion leadoff hitter Arlie Lorack singled in her first at bat and scored the games’ first run. Lone Tree would send nine batters to the plate in the inning, so Lorack led off the second as well. 

She took a ball and a strike and then drove the ball into center field for a double. 

“I was just looking for her to make a mistake,” Lorack said. “I was looking for my pitch, and I wasn’t going to swing at anything else.”

Ella Buser came to the plate with the bases loaded in the second inning and hit the ball into left field to score two runs, increasing the lead to five. 

Kaalberg said that he knew Buser had the potential to be a great hitter when he was throwing to the sophomore in one of Lone Tree’s early practices. 

“I don't throw super hard but I throw harder, and she went yard off me,” Kaalberg said. “And I said, ‘that girl is going to be in my lineup.’ 

“So ever since then, I've told her just come in and swing, swing back, because she’s got fast hands and that bat just goes.”

Buser had two hits in the first game against Holy Trinity, so Kaalberg moved her up from seventh in the order to batting clean up. 

She delivered two hits and a game-high four RBIs. She also reached base on error twice. 

Lone Tree finished the season with the tough part of its schedule and won just two of its last 14 games after a 7-3 start. Getting win number 10 in the postseason was special for Lone Tree’s only senior, Skylar Smith.

“It really means a lot because I don't want the season to be over,” Smith said. “And I know this group of girls really doesn't either.”

Smith drove in a run in the first inning. She led off the fourth with a single and scored to put Lone Tree on top 9-2. 

Alex Dautremont had two hits and two RBIs for Lone Tree in the win and Hogan Eden had two hits as well. Ellen Carrow, had a hit, a walk and reached on error twice. She scored a run every time reached base. 

Entering the bottom of the seventh inning with an eight run lead, it took a while for Lone Tree to get the first out of the inning. Four errors allowed two runs to score with still no outs. 

“I wasn't worried,” said Kaalberg, who made a trip to the circle after the Crusaders scored twice. “I was like, just calm down, play our game. We're doing stuff that we haven't done since we started the season, so let's clean it up. And we did.”

Lorack retired the next batter with her 12th strikeout of the game. 

With two outs and runners on second and third, a soft fly landed in the glove of shortstop Ellen Carrow to end the game, sending Lone Tree to the Regional quarterfinals.

“It means a lot,” Lorack said. “We've practiced and we've tried really hard this entire season. We've gone through ups and downs, but we've overcome the adversity.”