Southland Rebels softball team clinches Southeast Conference title with doubleheader sweep over Houston

The Southland Rebels softball team, sitting in first place in the Southeast Conference entering play on Tuesday traveled to Houston to take on the second-place Hurricanes in a doubleheader, and it was the Rebels clinching the conference title with a sweep, winning 6-4 in the first game and 6-1 in the second.

In Game 1, the two teams were tied at 1 after one inning of play, but the Rebels, who were the home team in the second game plated five runs in the bottom of the second to take a 6-1 lead, and 8th grade pitcher Laney Weis and the Rebel defense were able to fend off a three-run rally for the Hurricanes in the top of the fifth inning on their way to the 6-4 win.

Weis was stellar in the circle in the first game for Southland as she went the distance and gave up the four Houston runs, three earned, on three hits, striking out 17 and walking five.  Weis helped her own cause by going 2 for 3 at the plate, while sophomore outfielder Riana Ulven went 2 for 4 with a run scored, Haylee Lowe was 1 for 3 with a double, Bria Nelson and Abby Sorgatz were also both 1 for 3, Shannon Kiefer was 1 for 3 with a run scored, 8th grade catcher and shortstop Clara Timm was 1 for 1 with a run scored, Grace Krebsbach was 1 for 3 with a run scored and a stolen base, Haylee Lowe was 1 for 3, and Maren Wehrenberg scored a pair of runs in the win.

In Game 2, Houston took a 1-0 lead with a run in the top of the first, but Southland, who was the home team in the second game took the lead for good with a four-run top of the third, and they added single runs in the fourth and sixth innings, while Weis again did the rest in the circle, as she gave up just the one run, which was earned, on two hits, fanning 15 Hurricane hitters and walking three.

Grace Krebsbach led the way offensively for the Rebels by going 3 for 3 with three runs scored and three stolen bases, Haylee Lowe went 1 for 4 with a pair of RBI’s, Weis and Clara Timm were both 1 for 4, Riana Ulven went 1 for 3 with a run scored, and Shannon Kiefer was 2 for 3 with an RBI in the win.

With the pair of wins, the Rebels are now 10-0 in conference play, and 14-1 overall on the season, and Southland returns to action Thursday in Rochester versus Schaeffer Academy in a Southeast Conference matchup, with first pitch at 4:30 p.m.