WEST POINT — It was a record-setting night Friday on Senior Night at South Park.
The Holy Trinity Catholic High School softball team won its 17th game of the season, the first Crusaders team to do that.
“Sixteen was the record. We got 17 and we are going to get more,” HTC coach Loren Menke said.
The Crusaders got to 17 wins with a doubleheader sweep of Mount Pleasant, winning 9-0 and 11-7.
Another notable accomplishment was when Sydney Jarvis recorded her 200th career strikeout.
Emily Ross, the only senior on the team, was feted for her play during her two seasons on the varsity and one on the junior varsity.
“I’d say she was the highlight of the night,” Menke said of Ross. “She has been so important to our team. She’s so much fun to coach, such a heady player and so good at first base.”
Ross started playing at Fort Madison and transferred her sophomore year to HTC and had to play junior varsity because of the 90-day rule.
Playing varsity last season, Ross broke out and led the Crusaders in hits, doubles and home runs. She batted .519 with 44 total bases.
Ross has been snakebitten at the plate this season, Menke said. “She has hit five or six balls to the deepest part of the outfield that have somehow been caught.”
This year she is second on the team in doubles and carries a .311 batting average and .400 on-base percentage.
The reason for the drop at the plate is pain.
“I’m not really sure what’s wrong, possibly a herniated disk, but I’m playing through it because it’s my last season,” Ross said.
Menke said she is an invaluable resource as a coach on the field.
“When we switched pitchers, our outfielders were the same,” Ross said. “I knew we should switch so that our super great outfielder was in right field because that’s where the ball get hit. I came over and reminded the coaches about it. When Sydney pitches, she’s fast so people hit it to right field. Kenna (Gittings) is great at diving and catching those balls.”
After throwing a two-hitter for the win in the opener, Jarvis came on in relief of Ellie Hellman, who had relieved starting pitcher Makayla Simpson in the nightcap.
Jarvis fired the shutout with two walks and five strikeouts in the opener that ended in five innings. She helped her cause with a double.
Alivia Holmes, Simpson, Jarvis and Morgan Krogmeier all had two hits in the opener.
HTC scored four runs in the first and five in the second inning. The Crusaders didn’t have an error.
The second game was very different. The Panthers scored first thanks to one of four HTC errors. Hellman tied the game at 1 in the bottom of the second inning with a single, went to second on a wild pitch, went to third on an error and scored on a wild pitch.
The Panthers scored a run in the top of the fourth inning.
In the bottom of the frame, the Crusaders got a double from Brooklyn Todd, consecutive triples from Gittings and Simpson and a double from Jarvis to take a 3-2 lead.
The Panthers got a single, a walk and a double to move ahead 4-3 in the fifth inning.
Krogmeier and Hellman singled in the bottom of the fifth and an error tied the game at 4.
The top of the sixth saw Todd tag runners out going from first to second on consecutive batters.
Then the Crusaders won the game in the bottom of the sixth with seven runs. Ross doubled home two runs. Cadyn Holmes hit a two-run single. Todd’s single brought home a run. A Gittings ground out scored a run and Simpson drew a bases-loaded walk that scored a run.
Simpson pitched into the fifth inning when Hellman was pulled from the outfield to pitch. Jarvis came in and got the last two outs of the last regular-season home game.
“We were hoping we wouldn’t have to use Syd there, but things got a little tight,” Menke said.
Ross said the games were emotional.
“It’s sad, but I’ll be more sad when it’s my last game for sure,” Ross said. “I’m so grateful for the season we’ve had. It’s really nice we get a postseason game here.
“I’ve played first for a long time and really enjoy it. It makes me feel very valuable when I help the team.”
She will help the Coe College team next year.
HTC has a Tuesday game at WACO and Wednesday at New London/W-MU.
HTC got a first-round bye in regionals. The Crusaders are the third seed and play the winner of Wapello (12-9) and WACO (0-18) Monday July 9 at South Park.