The #9 Golden Rams softball team took the field on Saturday, squeezing in two games between rain showers and thunderstorms and taking down MN West to earn a 2-0 sweep. With the sweep, the Golden Rams softball team is now 7-1 in their last eight games.
The first game got off to a rough start for the Golden Rams, as they quickly dug themselves a hole and were down 4-0 after three innings. The Golden Rams would respond though, as they knocked through four runs in the fifth and two runs in the 6th, powered by two huge home-runs by Sunny Strait and Molly Gross. The Golden Rams went on to narrowly defeat the Lady Jays of MN West in game one. Molly Gross was the starting pitcher who recorded the win, striking out out ten while allowing nine hits. Molly Gross improves to 8-3 on the year for the Golden Rams. At the plate, the aforementioned Sunny Strait performed impressively, as she went 2-3 with a double, home run, and four RBIs. Maddie Bottineau was 2-3 with two doubles. Molly Gross also had a big home run, going 1-3 with the home run and two RBIs, helping to clinch the 7-6 win in game one.
In game two, the Golden Rams again found themselves down 4-0 after the first inning, but were able to explode at the plate to pick up a relatively stress-free win. Sunny Strait was the pitcher who recorded the win, as she struck out six while allowing just three hits. She moves to 6-3 on the year with the win. From the plate, there were a number of different contributors. Maddie Bottineau stayed hot, going 2-3 with a double and two RBIs. Madison Segler was also 2-3 with two RBIs. After a poor 1st inning, the Golden Rams went on to easily defeat MN West behind their hot hitting, as they were able to pick up the win 12-4 in five innings.
Anoka-Ramsey was able to pick up two wins on the day, despite not playing their best to start both games. With their wins, the Golden Rams are now 17-10 on the year. Coach Dave Alto said that in game one, they "weren't at [their] best", but were able to "battle through and persevere for the win." In game two, despite falling behind, Coach Dave Alto said that the Golden Rams "hit the ball much better up and down the line up." He gave credit to MN West, saying that they "played us very tough, and it was good for us to have to fight for the wins."
The previous matchup between the two teams was not competitive, as Anoka-Ramsey won 12-1 in five innings. The Golden Rams are next scheduled to travel to Ridgewater on Tuesday for a doubleheader, with first pitch set for 3 and 5PM. It will be the second meeting of the season for the two teams, after they played earlier in the season at the National Sports Center.
-Story written by Nick Balmanno, Athletics Intern