Charles City freshman Addison Ellis struck out 16 Decorah Vikings during a 1-hit shutout victory (6-0) in the first game of Tuesday’s NEIC doubleheader. The Comets also won the second game.
By John Burbridge
sports@charlescitypress.com
DECORAH — Comet freshman ace pitcher Addison Ellis may not have needed the extra help while whipping her rising fastball past Decorah hitters during the first game of Tuesday’s Northeast Iowa Conference softball doubleheader.
But she got it anyway with freshman battery mate Jaeda Molstead “framing” the strike zone with deft glove gamesmanship — all this to “help” the homeplate umpire with his punch-outs whenever Ellis “painted the black”.
And that was often as Ellis struck out 16 Vikings in seven innings for the complete-game 1-hit shutout victory in a 6-0 final which was the first part of a DH sweep by Charles City to close the regular season.
Ellis walked none but hit two of the first three Vikings batters she faced in the first inning. After an early visit to the pitching circle by Comet head coach Brian Bohlen, Ellis seemed to settle down — but you couldn’t blame the Viking hitters for any continued uneasiness as they were thoroughly overmatched for the remainder of the game.
The only hit against Ellis — who improved to 7-1 going into the postseason — was freshman Claire Hjelle’s bloop single with eyes that fell uncaught just inside the right-field line 15 feet beyond the edge of the infield.
Senior Mya Rimrod was 2 for 3 with 2 RBIs and a run scored; senior leadoff hitter Emerson Bohlen was 2 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored; and senior Brooklyn Molitor for 2 for 4 with an RBI for Charles City in the first game.
The second game was halted after five full innings with Charles City’s 3-run rally in the top of the fifth capping a 10-0 final.
Again hitting from the top of Charles City’s lineup, Bohlen went 2 for 3 with a double, run scored and a personal season-high 4 RBIs. Bohlen also stole two bases for her team-leading 23rd and 24th SBs of the season.
Rimrod drove 2 runs home with a double, senior Payton Hadley was 2 for 4 with a double, eighth-grader Ali Shirley was 2 for 3, freshman Lily Herman pitched four innings a two-hit shutout softball, and eighth-grader Lexan Joslin pitched one inning of one-hit shutout softball for Charles City (16-14, 9-3 NEIC), which will host these same Vikings (15-14, 6-6) Thursday in the first round of the Class 4A-Region 5 bracket with the winner advancing to face Western Dubuque Saturday in the semifinals at the Farley Sports Complex.