A breezy afternoon made conditions rough Wednesday for Polk County and Avery softball players, the wind often whipping blinding dust clouds through the infield.
The Wolverine offense also made it a long day for Viking pitching.
Polk County scored in every inning but one, setting a season high for runs and hits with a 19-10 thumping of Avery in a home Western Highlands Conference battle.
Get PolkSports delivered to your inbox
Sign up for our free newsletter →
On a day during which the Wolverines honored their seniors, Polk County (3-7, 2-5) took a key step toward claiming the WHC’s automatic 1A playoff berth. The Wolverines host winless Mitchell for a doubleheader on Monday and can claim at least a tie for the playoff berth by winning one of the two games. A sweep wraps up a postseason trip.
Polk County, which finished with 19 hits, scored three runs in the first inning, two of those on freshman Chloe Young’s two-run homer. Leading 3-2, the Wolverines tallied three times in the third with some aggressive base running and a pair of Avery errors.
Polk built the margin to 10-2 in the fourth, the key blow coming on Alana Jergenson’s two-run homer to center, her fourth of the season.
Avery made things interesting in the fifth, pushing across six runs to cut the Wolverine lead to 10-8. But Polk responded with four runs in the bottom of the fifth, then added five more in the sixth to ensure a winning result.
Amberlyn Scruggs earned the win on the mound and was also 3-for-5 with three RBI. Scruggs also scored five times, one short of the school record.
Emily Prince and Kaylin Jenkins each had three hits, with Jergenson finishing 2-for-3 with five RBI and Young going 2-for-5 with four RBI. Emmie McDowell added a 2-for-3 effort for the Wolverines.
