Wrangell Sentinel -

The Lady Wolves and Petersburg’s Lady Vikings club team split a pair of games last week as Wrangell played their first matches of the 2013 softball season.

At home to kick off the season, Wrangell won the first game on Thursday, April 25 by a 21-20 margin.

Head coach Kathleen Harding said she thought the weather – which contributed to officials calling the game in the sixth inning – had an impact on the game and helped the Lady Wolves to the win.

“For having mostly beginners, I think we played pretty well,” Harding said. “The weather was really bad both days, so we were fighting that. I think because of the weather their pitcher was getting cold, too. They walked quite a few of our players during that game and the weather helped us. For instance, we brought a towel to keep the ball dry and they had forgotten to bring one.”

The Lady Wolves ended the first inning down 5-7, though they were able to keep in the game thanks to runs from Briana Schilling, Erica Smith, Marsha McCay, McKenna Harding and Darien Meissner. An out against Schilling retired the side and gave Petersburg a shot at scoring.

And score they did.

Petersburg fired out the gate with seven runs coming from the bats of Sarah Tate, Courtney Neidiffer, Kylie Wallace, Catherine Cardenas, Raven Hanson, Molly Parks and Kiana Simbahon.

Tate, Neidiffer and Simbahon were the high scorers for Petersburg with three runs apiece, while Wrangell’s Harding finished with five runs. Schilling finished the game with four runs.

Petersburg had a remarkable sixth inning with six runs, including one from Adonna Kvernvik. It wasn’t enough, however, to overcome an 18-14 lead by Wrangell. The Lady Wolves followed with three runs by Schilling, Harding and Meissner to take the win.

Meissner, a utility player who had a double in each of the games, said it was her first time on the diamond and she enjoyed it regardless of the weather.

“I was really nervous at first,” Meissner said. “I have never played softball before. But I had a lot of fun even though the weather was bad, and we did good.”

The Friday game was a bit more of an uphill climb for Wrangell, though, as they ultimately fell 16-10 to a surging Lady Vikings club. The Petersburg squad was on fire. Every player on the team scored at least one run – and saw eight of their runners score in the fourth inning.

They also remembered to bring a towel.

“They brought a towel on Friday and it helped them immensely, in keeping their pitcher in the game,” Harding added.

The Lady Wolves had an exceptional fourth inning with seven runs batted in. Harding led the Wrangell team in the game with three runs.

The softball season for Wrangell will be short this year, with the only remaining game coming in Petersburg on May 10-11.