LONE TREE

It didn’t come down to the wire like their matchup earlier in the season but this second contest between the Lady Lions and the Ravens once again proved to be an exciting one.  

In front of their home crowd, Lone Tree pulled away in the sixth to secure a season sweep over fellow conference member Hillcrest, 5-3, on June 18. 

With this victory Lone Tree (11-5) now has a 7-3 record in conference play and increases its win streak to five in a row. Despite a solid effort, Hillcrest (7-9) is still searching for their first win over the Lady Lions since 2017. 

A scoreless first inning by both teams kept the scoreboard at zeros but this was changed in the second. 

In the bottom of the inning Lone Tree sophomore Dalanie Graap, who was courtesy running for teammate Abby Zaruba who reached first on an error, used her speed to score on a wild pitch. This gave the Lady Lions the lead, but it did not last for long. 

The top of the third saw Hillcrest tie the game. 

Malia Yoder, a bigtime playmaker for the Ravens, hit a double to get on base and then eventually scored the tying run, brought in by Claire Withrow who grounded out to bring in Yoder.

Breaking the tie, Lone Tree’s Vivian Zaruba used quality baserunning in the bottom of the inning to score a run. Zaruba got on base with a single, stole second, then stole third, and made it home off a catcher error. 

Not deterred in the slightest, Hillcrest tied the game once more with a run in the fifth. In an almost identical script from the first time they scored, Yoder doubled again to get on base and scored again thanks to Withrow grounding out. 

The bottom of the inning saw Vivian Zaruba score again to give her team the lead. A sacrifice bunt by Lila Bell brought in Zaruba. This was Lone Tree’s first RBI of the game. 

Carrying the momentum from one inning to the next, Lone Tree took their largest lead of the game when they scored two runs in the sixth. 

In their last chance to rally, Hillcrest put up one run in the seventh, scored once again by Yoder who got on base with a single and was brought in by Withrow. Withrow ended the game with a team leading three RBIs. 

After the score Lone Tree shut the door on any comeback attempt by striking out the next at bat for their third out of the inning. Despite being out hit, 10-3, the Lady Lions were still able to make the necessary plays to eke out this victory.  

It was another strong performance on the mound for Yoder. The standout junior pitched in six innings, retiring 11 batters, giving up two hits, and allowing seven walks. 

Getting the win on the mound was freshman Abby Zaruba. Pitching in the last three innings, Zaruba struck out three, allowed four hits, and walked none. Pitching in the first four innings was Alex Dautremont who tallied eight strikeouts, gave up five hits, and walked one. 

Calamus-Wheatland 7, Lone Tree 4

The Lady Lions (11-6) five game win streak came to an end as they were defeated on the road by the Calamus-Wheatland Warriors (18-9) on June 19. 

Through four innings, the Warriors held a 4-3 lead and Lone Tree was able to tie the game in the top of the fifth, but Calamus-Wheatland took back the lead by scoring twice in the bottom of the inning. With Lone Tree being held scoreless in the last two innings, the Warriors added one more run in the sixth to eventually win by three. 

Getting 10 hits as a team, Lone Tree was led by senior Lila Bell who went three for four at bat, hitting three singles. 

The loss on the mound went to Alex Dautremont who pitched in five innings, recorded three strikeouts, surrendered 10 hits, and allowed one walk. 

Pekin 10, Lone Tree 8

In a close conference contest, Lone Tree (11-7) had a late seventh inning rally on the road that fell short as they lost to the Pekin Panthers (3-16) on June 21. 

With the game tied at one apiece, Pekin took a commanding lead by scoring five in the fourth. The Lady Lions scored once in the fifth but with the Panthers scoring twice in the fifth and sixth innings, they went into the seventh facing an eight run deficit. 

In the top of the seventh, the Lady Lions were able to find a rhythm on offense by scoring six runs but ultimately their comeback efforts fell short. 

Senior Hogan Eden was a vital factor in Lone Tree’s scoring efforts as she ended the game with a team leading three RBIs by going two for two at bat. Also getting two hits while up to bat was junior Vivian Zaruba. 

Pitching in four innings was Alex Dautremont, striking out two, giving up 10 hits, and allowing one walk. 

WB/ND 12, Lone Tree 2

Going on the road, Lone Tree saw its losing streak reach five in a row as they fell to the West Burlington-Notre Dame Falcons (18-5) on June 24. 

An impressive first inning saw the Falcons jump to a 7-0 lead. The Lady Lions cut into their deficit by scoring twice in the second, but WB/ND scored two of their own in the third and three more in the fourth to end the game early. 

Lone Tree had six hits as a team with Vivian Zaruba ending with a team high two hits and one RBI.

Alex Dautremont and Abby Zaruba both saw playing time at the pitcher position. Dautremont, pitching in three innings, struck out two while giving up six hits. Zaruba, pitching in one inning, also struck out two while giving up five hits.

Up next for Lone Tree (11-10) is a road game against the conference leading Louisa-Muscatine Falcons (22-3) on June 27.