GMG junior Adelyn Sienknecht (12) scores a run as the ball gets away from South Tama catcher Isabelle Johannsen (20) during the Tuesday, June 13 non-conference softball game in Tama. The visiting Wolverines beat the Trojans 15-0 in three innings. PHOTO BY JAKE RYDER

TAMA — A well-rounded GMG softball lineup made quick work of South Tama County in a 15-0, three-inning victory at STC High School on Tuesday, June 13.

The Wolverines (6-7) put up eight runs in the first inning and cruised past the winless Trojans (0-16), completing the season sweep of South Tama after an 8-3 win on June 3.

Brooklyn Mitchell and Alice Harris had three RBI each for GMG. Marriah Stonewall, Adelyn Sienknecht and Dylan Mathern all knocked in two runs each and Abby Parks had a single RBI.

“Our one through six hitters have been money all year,” said GMG head coach Randy Sienknecht. “Now our bottom half [of the order] is starting to hit the ball and do things right, and it’s starting to get real fun for us.”

GMG was coming off a narrow 10-8 loss to Don Bosco the night before in Gilbertville and looking to bounce back from a late letdown in that game. Four Wolverine losses have come by three runs or fewer.

“We had three costly errors in that fifth inning that cost us that game, and the girls wanted a little revenge tonight,” coach Sienknecht said. “We’re playing a lot of close games this year, and we just haven’t gotten over the top with them.”

The Wolverines tacked on two runs in the second and five more in the third, capitalizing on several STC errors, in addition to two hit batters and drawing five walks.

Sienknecht sees the Wolverines moving in the right direction, in pursuit of a goal to win at least one postseason game later this summer.

“We’ve got a brutal schedule with 12 games in the next two weeks, so we just have to take it one game at a time,” he added. “The biggest thing I see is that the girls are talking, we’re cheering, we know where to go with the ball, which is a big step for us in the last couple of years, and we’re playing as a team.”

South Tama, back playing varsity after going JV-only last season due to lack of numbers, is working through the climb back to varsity.

“We’re just really inconsistent,” STC head coach Lon Wilkerson said. “A lot of these girls played last year in that JV season, but we haven’t caught up to the speed of the varsity game. It’s a good group of girls and we work on fundamentals all the time, but just inconsistent.”

Millie Mathes-Henle reached base twice on Tuesday with a walk and a single for the Trojans. Taylor Johannsen had the other hit for STC.

“It’s going to take a lot of hard work on their part,” Wilkerson said of the quest to try and find the win column. “The girls understand where we are, and most of them have bought in. … We’ve just got to get adjusted to the speed of the varsity game, and the WaMaC is tough.”