Northstars win home opener

By JASON JUNO

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Hurley --- Hurley’s home opener came exactly one month earlier than last year’s May 11 game against South Shore.

The Northstars defeated Butternut-Mercer 14-4 Thursday, April 11, and have since played two more home games. A more consistent schedule should give them more chances to play — and more chances to get better — compared to last year when it didn’t stop snowing until early May and they didn’t get outside here to even practice until after their 12th game.

“We’ve got a lot to work on, we got to clean those errors up,” Hurley coach Randy King said. “The more we practice outside, the more it’ll come, it’ll get better and better. We’ve got to stay hungry to learn and get better. We can’t be happy with a win where we didn’t play our best.”

The Northstars took a 3-0 lead in the first inning, but the Pioneers tied it in the third. Mercer junior Jenny Klopatek started the scoring with an RBI single.

Hurley took control of the game with eight runs in the bottom half of the third. Olivia DiGiorgio drove in a run with a single to make it 4-3 Northstars. With it 5-3 and two outs, a run scored on a bases-loaded walk, the next two scored on a missed fly ball, and Alayna King cleared the bases with a double, taking advantage of the extra out to take an 11-3 lead.

“We’re very inexperienced, girls out of position, trying new things,” Butternut-Mercer coach Glenn Wegner said. “One bad inning with those errors and that’s all it takes against a team like Hurley, they’re always pretty solid.”

Butternut-Mercer scored their fourth and final run in the fifth on a two-out RBI single by Rylinn Rossi.

Hurley finished with 13 hits, three by King with two each from Kamryn Swartz, Olivia DiGiorgio, Patience Sivula and Andi Krall.

“There’s a lot of pitches where the third strike went by looking, can’t have that happen,” King said. “We got to learn when we hit the ball, we’ve got to get our timing a little bit better so we hit it hard. Some girls got it, some have to work on it.”

DiGiorgio picked up the win on the mound with four strikeouts. Butternut-Mercer finished with seven hits.

“She’s a pretty good pitcher as a sophomore, throws a lot of strikes, throws some heat, but our girls were ready,” Wegner said.

Jersey Polencheck took the loss for the Pioneers.

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Hurley --- Hurley’s Maddee Hewitt hit an inside-the-park grand slam to lead the Northstars past South Shore 14-1 Monday.

Hewitt’s big hit came in a nine-run second inning that put the game away for Hurley.

“It was a hard-hit shot to the fence in the right-center gap,” Hurley coach Randy King said. “That kid’s got some wheels, she gets around the bases pretty quick. What she did is something you don’t see too often, pretty special.”

Haley Tull led Hurley with two of their six hits. Patience Sivula drove in two runs with Tull, Alayna King, Olivia DiGiorgio and Andi Krall driving in one run each.

“Offensively it was a game where we had to adjust our timing at the plate again after facing a strong pitcher in the last game (Cumberland),” KIng said.

DiGiorgio struck out nine and didn’t allow a hit. South Shore’s only run in the five-inning game was unearned.

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CUMBERLAND, Wis. --- Cumberland scored three runs in the fifth inning to rally past the Hurley softball team for a 3-2 victory Saturday.

The Northstars scored two runs in the third inning and held the lead until the fifth.

“Hard one to lose after leading for most of the game, then that one inning happens,” Hurley coach Randy King said.

Hurley tallied just two hits. Haley Tull’s single brought home one of the runs in the third and Olivia DiGiorgio had the other.

“We played pretty well defensively, but we had a hard time with the speed of this pitcher after the game the night before,” King said. “She threw hard, but we have to learn that’s softball sometimes and we have to adjust how we swing from game to game. Not happy we didn’t come out on top, but playing teams like this should help us as the season goes on.”

DiGiorgio threw a complete game with five Ks and five hits and a walk allowed.

The Hurley JV team won its game 10-0.

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Hurley --- Hurley beat Northland Pines 16-1 on Friday.

Haley Tull and Kamryn Swartz each had two hits and Tull drove in three runs. Swartz, Patience Sivula and Lilly Youngs all drove in one run.

Olivia DiGiorgio struck out seven in three innings and allowed five hits.

“We hit the ball well today and our pitching was strong right from the beginning of the game,” Hurley coach Randy King said. “Coach Charlie Zinsmaster does a great job with our pitchers and coach Kirkie Pecotte works hard with our infield and outfield and it shows.”