Giant loss puts softball record at 9-5

After nine innings, the TCU Titans lost by a run to the Le Sueur-Henderson Giants 3-4 on Monday.
TCU’s Ellaina Novak lead off with a single in the second inning and was sacrificed to second by Ava Rud. She advanced to third on a single by Lilly Barnes, then scored on a single by Destiny Dunagan.
The Giants answered in the fourth inning when Liz Milam reached on an error and Olivia Fritz hit a two-run homer.
Ellie Singleton singled to start the sixth inning, scoring on a double by Elly Novak.
Titan Coach Phil Murry said overall, his team played a really good game with a lot of highs and lows.
“We really got good production from our bottom half of the order. They got six of our 10 hits, and we struggled just at the end with their short game. Up until the ninth we had done a nice job of keeping the mistakes to a minimum,” he stated.
Murry pointed out that Lilly Barnes, who lead off with a home run in the seventh inning, hit the ball really well.
Olivia Fritz and Zoe Thomson reached on errors, Fritz scored on a suicide squeeze bunt by Berndt.
The winning pitcher was Giant pitcher Kelsey Berndt who went 9 innings, allowing for 10 hits, 3 runs, 2 walks, and 1 strikeout.
The losing pitcher was TCU’s Elly Novak, who lasted more than eight innings. She allowed 3 hits, 4 runs, 1 walk, and had 11 strikeouts.
For LSH hitters, Olivia Fritz, went 1 for 2 with a homerun, two runs scored and 2 RBIs.
Titan hitters included Lilly Barnes, 2 for 4 with a homerun and an RBI, Destiny Dunagan, 2 for 4 with an RBI, and Ellaina Novak, 2 for 4 with a run scored.

TCU 9, Jordan 1
After the first inning in the game against Jordan on May 9, the Titans gave up a run, but shut the door on the visiting Jaguars with a score of 9-1.
According to Coach Phil Murry, Brooke Blaschko got things started with a walk before, Sydney Sartori reached on an error. After an out, Ellaina Novak drove in a run with a single, and Ava Rud drove in a run with a ground out.
“I am extremely proud of the way the girls played today. We really did a nice job of putting the ball in play up and down our lineup,” Murry stated.
The winning pitcher was Elly Novak. She went 7 innings, allowing 2 hits, 1 run, no walks, and had 14 strikeouts.
In the second inning, Lily Barnes lead off with a double. and Keilee Westlee walked before Blaschko singled to drive in a run.
The Titans continued their scoring in the fourth when, with one out, Elly Novak reached on an error, then scored on another error later in the inning.
In the fifth, it was Barnes leading off with a single followed by Destiny Dunagan’s single. Isabelle Factor reached on a fielder’s choice before Blaschko loaded the bases. Sartre then singled to drive in a run followed by Elly Novak doubling to drive in two.
Hitters for TCU were Brooke Blaschko, 2-4, with two runs scored and an RBI; Elly Novak,1-3 with a double and two RBIs; and Lily Barnes, 2-3, with a double.
“We didn’t make any errors, which made a big difference for us,” Murry stated. “The top of our order really did a nice job of setting the tone for us.”

TCU 10 - Belle Plaine 0
(5 innings)
The Titans played some of their best ball in recent weeks, according to Murry, when they shutout the Belle Plaine Tigers on May 7.
“I was really pleased with our at-bats. I thought we showed good patience and battled very well up and down the order. Brooke Blaschko did an excellent job from her lead off position going 2-2 and getting on base four times. Ava Rud continues to play very well. She got two hits and threw out both runners trying to steal,” Murry commented. “Elly Novak was in control the whole way, giving up only two hits and striking out 10.”
With those stats, Novak was easily the winning pitcher. She went 5 innings, allowed 2 hits, no runs, and no walks.
TCU started off with Blaschko reaching on a walk, followed by Ellie Singleton reaching on fielder’s choice. Elly Novak singled to load the bases and sister Ellaina Novak walked to drive in a run. After a strikeout, Barnes walked to drive in a run.
In the third, Ellaina Novak lead off with a single, Sartori singled, and Rud singled to load the bases. After a fly out, Dunagan was hit with a pitch to drive in a run. Westless was walked to drive in a run and Blaschko then doubled to drive in two. Singleton followed with a doubling in two runs.
The Titans continued their scoring blast in the fourth inning when Rud singled. Another Titan was hit with a pitch. This time it was Barnes, followed by Dunagan singling to load the bases. Blaschko and Singleton finished it off bringing in two more runs.
Hitters for TCU were Blaschko 2 for 3 with a double, 2 runs scored and 3 RBIs; Rud 2 for 3 with 2 runs scored and an RBI; Ellie Singleton 1 for 4 with a double and 2 RBIs.
“I’m very pleased with how our girls have played since our letdown a week ago against Norwood. We’ve been playing some of our best ball the past three games,” Murry stated. “We need to continue that type of play.”

Next Action
The girls are nearing the end of the season. They play a doubleheader in Le Center on Thursday against Southwest Christian, and on Saturday, they play St. Peter for their final regular-season game.

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