The Elkhorn South Storm will be taking part in a tournament against the Marian Crusaders at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Elkhorn South's tournament run continued when they took on Fremont on Friday. The Storm were the clear victors by a 20-9 margin over the Tigers. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Storm.
Lauren Schneider made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. Schneider was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with two RBI.
In other batting news, Elkhorn South got a massive performance out of Paityn Spencer, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. Kacie Hinrichs was another key player, going 3-for-4 with three runs, two doubles, and two RBI.
Elkhorn South kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 22 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least 11 hits every time they've taken the field this season.
Meanwhile, Marian sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 4-3 victory over Bellevue East on Friday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Crusaders have posted against the Chieftains since September 10, 2018.
Like Elkhorn South, Marian also got a great game from a two-way player: Sadie Klinetobe. She struck out six batters over six innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off five hits. That's the most strikeouts Klinetobe has posted since back in September of 2024. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with two RBI and one double.
Klinetobe wasn't the only one making solid contact as four players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Adele Tompsett, who went 1-for-2 with two stolen bases and one RBI. Those two stolen bases gave Tompsett a new career-high.
Elkhorn South now has a winning record of 2-1. As for Marian, the victory got them back to even at 1-1.
Elkhorn South took their win against Marian in their previous matchup back in September of 2023 by a conclusive 13-1 score. Do the Storm have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Crusaders turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
