Lumberjacks remain on a roll

A big third inning helped send the Cloquet softball team to a 9-1 win over Esko Monday afternoon at Braun Park. The Lumberjacks led just 1-0 entering the bottom of third and then blew the game open with five runs in the inning.

Cloquet grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning, when Blythe Proulx singled and Rylie Goranson laid down a bunt in an attempt to sacrifice Proulx to second base. Instead, Esko misplayed the bunt, which ended up down the right field line, allowing Proulx to score the first run of the game.

"Esko is a quality team, and we wanted to play from ahead, so it was big for our team to get that lead early," said Cloquet coach Tyler Korby.

The wheels came off the wagon for Esko when Cloquet's leadoff batter Aydann Pollard walked to start the bottom of the third inning. Morgan Olesiak sacrificed Pollard to second and then the flood gates opened as Allie Jones walked, Carly Johnson singled, Goranson and Josie Lindstrom walked, and then Ella Maslowski drove in a pair of runs to push the 'Jacks lead to 6-0.

"Things got contagious, and once we got things going, the momentum just continued for us," said Korby. "We have a lot of weapons throughout our lineup."

While Cloquet was building a big lead, Esko was struggling to stop the bleeding as things began to get out of hand.

"Despite the score, I thought our starting pitcher Kaeyln Foxx pitched well while she was in there," said Esko coach Huff Emanuel. "It just got to the point where we needed to make a pitching change, so we pulled her out. We also had a game coming up the next day, and we needed Kaelyn to pitch, so it was time to just make a move."

Cloquet tacked on three more runs in the fourth inning when Jones, Johnson and Proulx all scored after getting hits. Three of Cloquet's four hits in the inning were doubles, as Jones, Proulx and Goranson all doubled in the inning.

Allie Jones was the winning pitcher for the 'Jacks, while Ella Maslowski pitched the final two innings for Cloquet. Jones fanned 12 Esko batters in five innings and did not give up a hit in her stint on the mound.

"Allie was pretty incredible today," Korby said. "Behind the plate Paige (Goranson) does just a great job defensively and handling our pitchers; she just doesn't get the credit she deserves."

Esko's lone run was scored in the bottom of the seventh after Kaelyn Foxx walked and scored on a single by Brooklyn McKibbon. McKibbon's seventh-inning single was the only hit Esko managed against Cloquet pitching. Esko also struggled at the plate by striking out 12 times in the game.

"We are really struggling with putting the ball in play right now," said Emanuel. "We've struck out 26 times in the last two games. We need to learn to make adjustments from at-bat to at-bat. Playoffs are coming up and we have a lot of work to do."

The win improved Cloquet's record to 11-6 while Esko dropped to 11-7.

Lumberjacks heat up

Allie Jones threw a complete-game four-hitter and Cloquet played errorless softball in a 5-0 Lake Superior Conference shutout victory over Grand Rapids last Thursday, May 9, in Grand Rapids.

Jones also had a two-hit day at the plate, along with teammates Morgan Olesiak and Carly Johnson. Leadoff hitter Olesiak scored three runs and cleanup batter Johnson knocked in four Lumberjack runs.

Jones struck out four and walked just one in her ninth win of the season.

Addison Linder took the loss in the circle for Grand Rapids, allowing 10 hits and five runs, while striking out five, beaning four others and walking one.

Last Friday Cloquet played in a doubleheader in Princeton against Princeton and Chisago Lakes. Cloquet split by losing 2-0 to Princeton, but then pulled off a big upset by beating the third-ranked team in the state, Chisago Lakes. Chisago Lakes finished as runner-up in the state Class AAA tournament last season.

"We lost to Chisago in nine innings last year, and then they went on to have a great run in the state tournament," said Korby. "I think that win gave our team a big boost in confidence, and hopefully that continues as we get to the playoffs."