Three homers carry Panther girls

A power hitting display by Creston hitters supported a milestone night for senior pitcher Taryn Fredrickson in a key Hawkeye Ten victory over Atlantic Wednesday night.

In a game postponed from Tuesday, both teams entered Wednesday’s matchup with undefeated records in the conference. Atlantic, ranked 13th in Class 3A, was 6-1 overall and 5-0 in league play, while the Class 4A No. 15 Panthers were off to a 4-0 start in the conference and 7-2 overall.

Early lead

Evy Marlin hit a two-run double and scored on a wild pitch to give Creston a 3-0 lead in the first inning, and that’s all Fredrickson would need in pitching a four-hitter with 12 strikeouts. Creston won, 9-2, as Fredrickson recorded her 500th career strikeout in the seventh inning.

“Taryn improves every year because she works her tail off,” Creston coach Dave Hartman said. “Her velocity is better, which gives her more separation in having at least three pitches at three different speeds. Her rise and changeup are better, and her curve has always been her money pitch. We had her at 62 miles an hour early in the year, and she was like at 57 and 58 most of the time last year.”

Creston outhit Atlantic 12-4 Wednesday, including home runs by Mila Kuhns, Avery Staver and Jaycee Hanson. It was almost five home runs by the Panthers, as Kuhns hooked another high, deep shot just left of the left field foul pole. Hanson hit a deep shot caught near the fence by Atlantic’s left fielder in the second inning before her solo bomb in the fourth inning.

Fredrickson said it’s easier to pitch to a quality team when she has a cushion from a productive offense, as well as a dependable defense that had no errors Wednesday.

“I love when we hit like that!” said Fredrickson. “I can just pitch with freedom. Coach tells us to get our A-swing off. We’re not half-swinging anything. We went into BP today and we wanted to prove something, and we absolutely did.”

Aggressive philosophy

Hartman said the fact that Creston has already hit 20 home runs in 10 games isn’t by accident, Hartman said. (For the year, Hanson, Kuhns and Staver have three homers each, Fredrickson and Jersey Foote each have two, and senior catcher Ava Adamson has a team-high four home runs.)

“We celebrate home runs in practice,” Hartman said. “I want our A swing every time with less than two strikes. I don’t want any check swings. Oklahoma calls it 100-100, be 100 percent on time, with 100 percent maximum effort. In practice we have a thing called ‘Hey-Hey!’ Whether we’re hitting off the tees, or taking batting practice, if anybody hits the ball out, everybody yells ‘Hey-Hey!’ You probably heard them yell that tonight in the dugout. We’re swinging hard, and celebrating home runs.”

Hartman said the team did a lot of work with weighted bats and light bats to develop bat speed in the offseason, along with an emphasis on decreasing strikeouts from last season.

“Our two-strike hitting has been better this year,” Hartman said. “Our plate discipline is getting really good, and we’re not chasing up. That was a good team we played tonight, and the girls played well.”

Atlantic scored on a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning and the third home run of the season by catcher Lila Wiederstein in the third inning.

“That was a little mistake,” Fredrickson said, smiling. “A rise ball that didn’t rise.”

Creston’s homestand continued Thursday in hosting Glenwood (2-4) before two tough games Friday in Ankeny at 10 a.m. and noon against two ranked Class 5A teams, Ankeny Centennial (6-2) and Ames (7-0).

Creston 9, Atlantic 2

Atlantic pitching: Zoey Kirchhoff 2K 0BB, Peyton McLaren (4) 1K 0BB. Creston pitching: Taryn Fredrickson 12K 1BB. HR — A: Lila Wiederstein. Cr: Mila Kuhns, Avery Staver, Jaycee Hanson. 3B — Cr: A. Staver. 2B — Cr: Evy Marlin, Ava Adamson. RBI — A: Wiederstein 1; Cr: A. Staver 2, Marlin 2, Kuhns 2, Fredrickson 1, Hanson 1. Multiple hitters — Cr: A. Staver 3, Adamson 2, Kuhns 2, Sasha Wurster 2.