CHS softball beats O’Fallon
by Mark Jurgena
COLLINSVILLE — The Collinsville softball team was able to take an SWC victory over O’Fallon last week to raise their conference mark to 2-2 overall. They fell to SWC rival Belleville East and a talented Gillespie squad.
O’Fallon win
Collinsville fell behind early then turned up the heat scoring four times in the final five innings to propel the Kahoks to an 11-5 victory at O’Fallon on April 9.
Lexi Rafalowski, Katie Bardwell and Emma Hylton all had multiple hit games for CHS with Rafalowski banging out three.
O’Fallon struck early taking a 4-0 lead after two innings but the Kahoks tied it up in the top of the fourth.
Rafalowski led off with a double and scored on a wild pitch before Emma Hylton got a three-base hit to bring home Bailey Demick and Faith Fairchild.
Keagan Edwards brought home Hylton on a sacrifice bunt to tie the game 4-4.
In the fifth CHS picked up the eventual game-winning run.
Fairchild’s walk scored Carsyn Moad for a 5-4 CHS advantage before Rafalowski scored on a wild pitch to make the score 6-4.
The Kahoks tacked on four more in the fifth and another run in the seventh.
In the fifth, Rafalowski brought home Edwards and Lilly Paarlberg when her ground ball turned into a Panther error.
Demick singled to bring home Rafalowski and Bardwell scored on a wild pitch.
Bardwell also scored the final CHS run in the top of the seventh after Demick reached on an error.
Demick and Hylton brought home two runs each while Fairchild and Edwards brought home one.
Thomas got the pitching win in the circle with a compete game scattering nine hits, walking two and striking out six.
East defeat
On April 11, Collinsville traveled to Belleville East and fell 12-1 in five innings to the SWC leader.
East is 12-7 overall and 4-0 in the SWC.
CHS could only manage two hits on the day with one each by Edwards and Moad.
In the top of the fifth, Moad singled home Edwards for the only CHS run.
Thomas was in the circle for Collinsville.
Gillespie loss
Simply put, Collinsville ran into Emma Gipson.
Gipson a senior right-hander from Gillespie and SIU-Carbondale commit struck out 15 Kahoks while walking zero hitters. She did give up four hits.
The Miner pitcher struck out 311 hitter in 196 innings one season ago.
Gillespie jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first, with Collinsville answering back in the bottom of the third with a run.
With two outs, CHS lead-off hitter Rafalowski reached on an error before Bardwell singled. Demick singled home Rafalowski for the only Kahok run.
For the game, Demick had two hits while Bardwell and Edwards had one apiece.
Aly Vieluf, Aubrey Mason and Thomas all saw time in the circle for CHS.
Gillespie moved to 15-4 overall while sitting in first place in the South Central Conference.
Upcoming Schedule
Collinsville played at Granite City on Tuesday then hosts Alton (Marquette) on Friday.
Monday sees them host Piasa (Southwestern) before they travel to SWC rival Edwardsville on Tuesday.
