Mendota rallied late in the game to take out North Boone, 3-1, in a Big Northern Conference varsity girls’ softball game on May 11 at the MHS field.

North Boone broke a scoreless tie with an unearned run in the fourth and the game remained 1-0 until the bottom of the sixth when Mendota finally broke through. Up until that point, the Lady Trojans had no hits and had only one baserunner.

Lauren Martin started the rally with a one-out walk and a stolen base. After a flyout, Katie Jenner delivered Mendota’s first hit, an RBI double to tie the game. Paige Manning reached on an error as Jenner raced home and Mary DeFore produced a run-scoring single to make it 3-1.

Manning, who started in the circle, ran into some trouble in the top of the seventh, but she managed to wiggle out of the jam to secure the victory. She allowed just three hits in the complete-game performance, striking out seven and walking two.

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Superb pitching and plenty of hitting was a good combination for the Lady Trojans as they walloped Hall, 11-0, on May 12 at Spring Valley. The game was halted after five innings because of the 10-run rule.

Mendota’s offense went right to work in the top of the first when it batted around and scored five runs. Emma Schultz and Ryleigh Sondgeroth each had RBI singles in the frame.

The Lady Trojans put three more runs on the board in the second when Jenner and DeFore singled ahead of a three-run homer by Jenna O’Donnell.

DeFore stroked a two-run single in the third and Mendota added one more run in the fifth.

In the circle, DeFore was masterful over five innings, allowing just a fourth-inning single. She struck out four and walked one.

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Mendota tried to rally late in the game, but came up short to Oregon, 6-3, in a BNC contest on May 13 at Oregon.

The Hawks scored two runs each in the first, third and fifth innings to take a 6-0 lead.

The Lady Trojans had just two hits through five innings before they put some hits together in the sixth and benefited from walks to score three runs. Paige Manning singled to drive in the first run. Sondgeroth walked with the bases loaded to plate another and Lauren Martin delivered an RBI single – her third straight hit – to cut the Oregon lead in half.

Manning pitched all six innings to take the loss. She gave up six hits, four earned runs, struck out seven and walked three.

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The Lady Trojans were forced to play come-from-behind again against Genoa-Kingston, but fell by a 6-5 count on May 17 at Genoa.

A five-run third inning propelled G-K to a 6-1 lead. Mendota scored in the third on an RBI single by Manning and then tallied three in the fourth to make it 6-4. Driving in runs were Jenner with a double, DeFore with a single and O’Donnell with a triple.

After the third, DeFore blanked the Lady Cogs the rest of the way, but Mendota could only push across one more run.

Jenner led Mendota’s 11-hit attack with three hits, while Manning and Martin had two apiece.

G-K managed 12 hits off of DeFore, but only one of its six runs was earned. She fanned three and walked three.