After three losses in four games since, the North Tama softball team is searching for the answers.

The Redhawks hammered tournament-host Gladbrook-Reinbeck, 16-5 in five innings, in the opening round of Saturday’s four-team event, and were knotted in a scoreless tie through five frames with Class 2A No. 13 Lisbon.

But the Lions’ persistent offensive attack finally scratched together enough to rattle the Redhawks, and the scale had no more than started tipping when Lisbon slammed it down in its favor.

The Lions erupted for four runs in the top of the sixth inning and then seven more in the seventh, running past the Redhawks for an 11-0 victory in Saturday’s championship game.

T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE • North Tama junior Olivia Schrier makes contact with a pitch against Lisbon during the title game of the Gladbrook-Reinbeck Tournament on Saturday in Gladbrook. Schrier had one of three hits for the Redhawks — a seventh-inning single — as Lisbon defeated North Tama 11-0.

Lisbon (10-0) scored in double-digits for the eighth time this season, including a 13-3, five-inning win against GMG in the opening round, and did it in both games Saturday with fewer hits than runs scored. The Lions feasted on 14 free passes issued by GMG pitching and 10 errors committed by North Tama’s defense, unofficially, en route to the tournament title.

The Redhawks (8-3) seemed poised to take Lisbon down to the wire, outhitting the Lions 2-1 through five innings of a scoreless tie. But Chloe Woodruff’s leadoff single in the sixth led to Lisbon’s initial four-run outburst, and North Tama’s defense buckled under Lisbon’s constant pressure.

“The way we were playing is exactly what we needed to do and where we needed to be with [Lisbon], but for some reason our bats just didn’t come around,” said North Tama first-year head coach Megan Salyars. “We’re in a rut right now where as soon as [our opponent] starts hitting the ball, we just kind of die a little bit. But we’re working on it, understanding that it’s softball — the ball’s going to be hit, they’re going to play the ball. We’ve got to play the ball, we’ve got to make these routine plays.”

Lisbon sent its entire lineup to the plate in the top of the sixth, scoring four times on two hits and four errors. In the seventh, the Lions accumulated seven runs with the help of five errors, two walks and a pair of hard-hit doubles.

North Tama’s pitching rotation of junior Tessa Dvorak and senior Carlie Feisel had handcuffed Lisbon’s bats for the first five frames, but the Lions started sending line drives into play and the Redhawks had trouble handling them.

T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE

“We’ve improved on things that we’ve wanted to improve on — baserunning is a big one,” Salyars said. “We’re improving on that, we’re making smart decisions.

“We’re getting a lot more comfortable on the infield to make routine plays, trying to get the lead out instead of just going to first. But today we took a step back.”

By the time Lisbon’s offense came to life, it was too late for North Tama’s bats to bring it back. The Redhawks, averaging 9.9 runs per game prior to Saturday’s tournament, tallied just three hits against Lions sophomore right-hander Skylar Sadler. The Solon transfer struck out 11, walked none and no North Tama hitter advanced beyond second base.

“In the beginning of the season, as soon as somebody scored against us, we’d come back and score even more,” Salyars said. “Right now we’re in that rut where our best hitters aren’t hitting as well and it’s getting to them.”

Chloe Feisel led off the third inning with a single and took second on a passed ball, and Carlie Feisel hammered a two-out double to the warning track in the fourth. Olivia Schrier prolonged the game with a two-out single in the bottom of the seventh, but Lisbon offered the Redhawks nothing for free.

T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE

North Tama was a little too hospitable.

“If it ended 4-0 I would have been proud of them,” Saylars said. “If we didn’t make the errors, that’s different. I always tell them that I will never be mad at them if they make the routine plays and [our opponent] beat us because they’ve beaten us instead of us beating ourselves, and we beat ourselves today in that game.

“We have to find the fun again, and we’re not there yet.”

Dvorak got the loss in the circle for North Tama, allowing four unearned runs on two hits in two-thirds of an inning. She shut out the Lions for the first three frames before giving way to Carlie Feisel in the Redhawks’ regular pitching rotation. Feisel tossed two scoreless frames before Lisbon broke it open against Dvorak in the fifth. Feisel couldn’t put out the fire, either, surrendering two hits and seven unearned runs on two walks with two strikeouts over the final 1 1/3 innings.

North Tama will try to snap back from three losses in four games over four days with a return to Iowa Star Conference play starting Monday. The Redhawks host Riceville on Monday, visit Janesville on Wednesday and entertain Dunkerton on Friday.

GMG 5, Gladbrook-Reinbeck 2, 5 innings

The GMG softball team paired three hits with four walks for a four-run eruption in the second inning on its way to a 5-2 victory against tournament host Gladbrook-Reinbeck in Saturday’s consolation final.

The Wolverines (3-5) rebounded from a decisive loss to Class 2A No. 13 Lisbon in the opening round, 13-3 in five innings, to get their third win of the season.

McKenzie Vaske led off the top of the second with a single and moved to third after a pair of infield outs. Back-to-back walks were followed by a Zoe Duncan RBI single, and two more free passes preceded Belle Duncan’s run-scoring single.

GMG got just two more hits in the final three frames, but the damage was enough to hold off Gladbrook-Reinbeck (0-3). The Rebels retaliated with their two runs in the bottom of the fourth. Reagan Skovgard led off with a single, Rachel Cooley was hit by a pitch and Megan Swanson walked to load the bases. Haleigh Berendes lifted a sacrifice fly to left field, and hits by Taylor Gienger and Sasha Nagle knocked in another run.

Three of G-R’s four hits came in its one scoring inning. Marissa Berendes had the only other hit for the Rebels.

GMG’s six singles came from six different hitters — Madi Krull, Sidney Catherwood, Emily Vaughn, Vaske and the Duncans. Winning pitcher Kelsey Vaverka struck out four and walked one.

Gladbrook-Reinbeck Tournament

At Gladbrook

Semifinals

North Tama 16, Gladbrook-Reinbeck 5 (5)

Lisbon 13, GMG 3 (5)

Consolation

GMG 5, Gladbrook-Reinbeck 2 (5)

Championship

Lisbon 11, North Tama 0

North Tama 16,

Gladbrook-Reinbeck 5, 5 innings

N. TAMA 208 06 — 16

G-R 050 00 — 5

Lisbon 13, GMG 3, 5 innings

LISBON 432 13 — 13 9

GMG 021 00 — 3 5

WP–Sandler. LP–Vaughn

GMG 5, Gladbrook-Reinbeck 2, 5 innings

GMG 140 00 — 5 6

G-R 000 20 — 2 4

WP–Vaverka. LP–Cooley.

Lisbon 11, North Tama 0

LISBON 000 004 7 — 11 5 0

N. TAMA 000 000 0 — 0 3 10

Skyler Sadler and Reegan Happel; Tessa Dvorak, Carlie Feisel (4), Dvorak (6), Feisel (6) and Carissa Calderwood. WP–Sadler. LP–Dvorak. 2B–LIS: Madelyn Morningstar, Sam Schrantz; NT: Feisel.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)

• Daily Newsletter
• Breaking News
• Obituaries

Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

• Yes
• No