LONE TREE

With only the bottom of the seventh left to play, it was looking bleak for the Lady Lions in their home conference game against Columbus.

After scoring twice in the first, Lone Tree was shut out for five straight innings. The Wildcats scored three in the third and twice in the seventh to take the lead and just needed to play solid defense to claim victory, but Lone Tree had other plans. 

The Lady Lions put together their best inning on offense when they needed it most, scoring three in the seventh to force an extra inning and then scored a run in the eighth for a walk-off win, 6-5, over Columbus on June 13. 

Lone Tree (8-5) makes it back-to-back wins with their comeback and they also improve their conference record to 4-3. For Columbus (3-14), they drop their 10th of their last 11 games and sees its conference record fall to 2-7. 

In the pivotal seventh inning, Lone Tree got the spark they needed from Haley Bockelman. Bockelman chose a perfect time for her first triple of the season, sending the ball flying deep into the right field and using her speed to reach third base.  

Up next to bat, Rylee Shield hit a fly ball and thanks to an error by the Wildcats, Shield reached second and Bockleman scored Lone Tree’s first run since the first inning. This led to a Vivian Zaruba RBI single that brought home Shield.

Still trailing by one, Lone Tree was at two outs with Hogan Eden stepping up to the plate. Eden, one of two seniors on the team, showcased her clutch factor by hitting an RBI single to tie the game. This was her third RBI of the game, the team lead. 

Going into an extra eighth inning, Columbus was up first, and they went three up and three down. With all the momentum on their side, Lone Tree now had a chance for an improbable comeback victory.

After a single and an out, Abby Zaruba was up to bat and grounded out at first, but her hit brought in Bella Pourry for the game winning score. 

Abby Zaruba was the starting pitcher for Lone Tree, pitching in three innings and retiring four batters. Pitching in five innings and getting the win on the mound was Alex Dautremont. She ended with a team high seven strikeouts, allowing three hits and no walks.

Lone Tree had 10 hits as a team with Vivian Zaruba, Shield, Eden, and Bella Pourry all connecting on a team high two hits. 

Lone Tree 9, VB County 3

Putting an end to a three-game losing streak, the Lady Lions handled the Van Buren County Warriors at home on June 12.

Lone Tree (7-5) was able to shut out Van Buren (7-6) in every inning except for one to secure the win. The Warriors put up three in the third for their only runs scored of the game. 

After Van Buren scored three, Sami Branson kicked off Lone Tree’s scoring in the bottom of the third with a solo home run, her first of the year. In the same inning, Hogan Eden hit an RBI double to tie the game. 

From there on it was all Lone Tree. They scored one in the fourth to take the lead, put up four more in the fifth, and then added an insurance run in the sixth. 

Lone Tree had seven hits as a team and those hits came from Branson, Eden, Rylee Shield, Vivian Zaruba, Lila Bell, Bella Pourry, and Abby Zaruba

The win on the mound went to Abby Zaruba, who pitched in four innings and had a team high four strikeouts. Alex Dautremont started the game as pitcher, going three innings and retiring three batters. 

Lone Tree 17, W-MU 0

Lone Tree 11, W-MU 1

Going on the road to battle a conference opponent in a double header, the Lady Lions won both contests against the Winfield-Mt Union Wolves on June 15. 

Lone Tree shut out the Wolves in the first game, earning the win in three innings. This is the second time this season Lone Tree has shut out their opponent. 

It was a great outing for Lone Tree senior Hogan Eden. Eden went three for three at bat, bringing in two RBIs. Leading the team in RBIs with four was freshman Olivia Magruder.

Alex Dautemont collected another win on the mound for Lone Tree, striking out three and only giving up one hit. 

The second game was different but the same, with the Lady Lions getting the win over W-MU in five innings. 

Lone Tree had 10 hits as a team with junior Vivian Zaruba leading the way, going a three for three while up to bat. Fellow junior Rylee Shield led the team in RBIs with three. 

This time the win on the mound went to freshman Abby Zaruba. She pitched in every inning, tallying seven strikeouts and only giving up one hit. 

Up next for Lone Tree (10-5) is a road conference game against the Pekin Panthers (1-15) on June 21.