Advertisement
The Cotter High School sophomore combines her lightning speed with a deadly slap-hitting style.
Those skills had yet to transition into a game, however. Not until Thursday that is.
Kirkvold went 2-for-3 with two runs scored, two stolen bases and an RBI in leading Cotter to a 5-2 win over Lake City in a Hiawatha Valley League contest.
“If she can get going, that’s huge,” Cotter coach Pat Bowlin said. “She can be a difference maker if we can get her on base.”
Before Kirkvold took her first at-bat, Bowlin told her to do whatever she felt she needed to do to get on — whether that was just swinging away, bunting or slap-hitting.
“That kind of helped,” she said. “Coaches tell you what to do, and you have to try to do it. But he said I could do whatever and that made me more comfortable.”
Kirkvold batted in the No. 9 spot against Lake City (7-2, 6-2).
In the second inning, she beat out a slapper for a single. Then she stole second base the traditional way — as the pitch was being thrown.
After the next pitch, she stole third quite unconventionally. As the catcher was throwing back to the pitcher, Kirkvold swiped the base.
“That was a delayed steal,” Kirkvold said. “I took my lead and watched as she threw it back before I went.”
Anna Buege doubled her in after that and Cotter (9-2, 8-0) was up 3-0.
After retiring the first nine batters in order, Cotter freshman Lauren Bowlin got into some trouble allowing a pair of doubles and a single. Lake City pulled within 3-2 and it looked as though things were going to be tight.
“That inning, I was getting a little tired and it was hard to throw strikes,” she said.
The Cotter offense put her at ease in the bottom of the fourth.
Kirkvold nailed a single. Two batters later Whitney Wisecup, who had an RBI double in the first inning, lined another RBI double, this time to right-center field.
Senior Laura Erickson came up next and cranked a double off the fence in center, scoring Wisecup.
Lauren Bowlin, who had seven strikeouts and one walk, had little trouble after. Lake City did get runners on second and third with one out in the sixth, but she got the next two batters to fly out.
Buege finished 3-for-4 with an RBI. Wisecup was 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
The win wrapped up a very important three-game stretch for Cotter against some of the better teams in the HVL — then unbeaten Zumbrota-Mazeppa, Byron and the Tigers.
“This was a big week,” coach Bowlin said. “That win over Z-M may have determined who wins the HVL. We were solid (Wednesday) against Byron and the only negative today was we gave away some runs on the bases.”
Twice Cotter was thrown out at home plate. The Ramblers were also caught stealing twice.
