Efflandt, Cary-Grove topple Conant

The Cary-Grove and Conant softball teams have been trying to play each other early on in the season for over two years. Mother Nature has always said no. They’ve either been rained out or snowed out or even winded out for that matter.

This year, Mother Nature was forced to say yes thanks to the unseasonably warm weather, and two of the top teams in the Daily Herald area, who both used the early season nonconference test as a measuring stick, finally did battle.

Conant (3-1) scored 2 early runs in the first inning, but the Trojans (4-0) matched that in the bottom half of the inning and junior pitcher Lindsay Efflandt’s 2-run double in the third broke a 2-2 tie in Cary-Grove’s 5-2 win over Conant in Cary. Conant came in as the preseason No. 1 in the Daily Herald Top 20. Cary-Grove was No. 4.

Efflandt was dominant in the circle. After giving up an earned run in the first, she struck out 8 Cougars and used the team’s first-inning rally to settle herself down.

“It feels really important to know your team’s behind you,” Efflandt said, “It doesn’t matter how many mistakes you make, your teammates are always going to be there and Taylor Dunne (2-for-3, 2 RBI) always comes and says something to me or she yells one thing out on the field. It makes realize they’re right behind me and those hits, when they scored those two runs back, it gave me that extra oomph to know to keep stepping it up and keep composed.”

Conant jumped on Efflandt early with an error and walk that led to Miranda Cavin’s basehit to left that scored a run, and a double steal at second and home gave Conant a 2-0 lead.

Dunne’s single that scored Lisa Semro and Sara Markelonis tied things up and Efflandt settled down. She found her groove and her third inning double that split the gap in left-center gave Cary-Grove a 4-2 lead.

“Lindsay’s a top-notch hitter as well as a pitcher,” Trojans coach Tammy Olson said. “A lot of people say, ‘why do you leave her in the lineup?’ and that’s exactly why. Because she comes through. She’s very focused, and when she is, she can hit lights out and its tremendous to have her (in the circle) and in the lineup.”

Conant had a chance in the fifth with the bags loaded but Allie Bauch lined to Efflandt to end the threat. Cary-Grove tacked on an insurance run in the sixth to seal it.

“Our goal was to score first and we did, we just didn’t finish it today. It definitely helps us see what we have to work on in the season,” Cougars coach CathyAnn Smith said.

Brianna Cavin suffered the loss in the circle for the Cougars.