Aberdeen Central fell into an early hole, and while the Golden Eagles fought back, they were unable get over the hump in a 13-6 setback to Yankton Saturday.

Central trailed 10-2 in the fourth inning of the Eastern South Dakota Conference softball contest. While the Eagles outscored Yankton the rest of the way, it wasn’t enough to wipe our the early deficit.

“Those are my girls. I’m not surprised in their ability to just keep fighting, and really show their ability to come back and keep chipping away,” said Central coach Cassidy Neer. “We just kind of dug ourselves that hole in the beginning there, but I will say to come out and compete – the result against Yankton last year was not a pretty one – so to come out and play seven innings today was a very, very big feat and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

The Golden Eagles racked up 14 hits on the day in what Neer called “our batting was the best it’s ever been.”

A big key to the Central hitting is the approach of the batters, according to Neer.

“We have what we call our perfect pitch approach. We talk to the girls about this all the time, and it’s been working for a lot of our hitters,” Neer said. “Essentially, they have their perfect pitch. A perfect pitch looks different for everybody. They aren’t swinging until they see that perfect pitch or they have one strike on them. So that is how we kind of filter through what we’re looking for as hitters at the plate.”

After Yankton scored four times in the top of the first, Central responded with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the frame. Ayrlie Waldo tripled in one run and scored on a ground out.

The Gazelles kept putting runs on the board and eventually extended their lead to 10-2 when Central scored two more runs in the bottom of the fourth. Rachel Siefken doubled and later scored on an error in that frame.

Siefken is one of those batters who is selective at the plate.

“I think I’m watching out for the pitches that I know I can drive pretty far,” Siefken said, “but I’m also just trying to put the bat on the ball.”

Siefken got a pair of hits from her spot at the bottom of the order. She said watching her teammates get on base made her want to follow suit.

“I think it motivates me, because we want to keep on the gas, no brakes,” Siefken said. “We want to keep going and we want to stay in the game.”

The Eagles added two more runs in the sixth on a single by Waldo.

Perhaps no one has made more strides at the plate for Central than Addyson Keller. She has transformed from a pinch-hitter to a designated player for the Eagles.

“We started utilizing that DP position and Addyson Keller has done an absolutely outstanding job as that person. Being a pinch hitter is no easy feat,” Neer said. “We started using her as a pinch hitter and now we’re using her as a DP, and she has completely bought into her role. I couldn’t say enough positive things about her.”

A new approach and a new bat have helped Keller when she steps into the batter’s box.

“I was first a pinch hitter and then I got moved to the DH or DP so I’m just hitting, and it was important to me because, I was really bad at batting last year,” Keller said. “This year I’ve really stepped it up. I got a new bat and I’m hitting some good hits with that. I’m just trying to put it in the field, so that I can advance my teammates and I can get on base.”

Keller said she has transformed from trying to take the biggest swing possible to a more conservative, yet, affective approach.

“The difference is definitely like a mindset,” Keller said. “My mindset is different, like let’s hit this ball, get it in play, and just try to make it so it’s best for my team and myself. Last year I was definitely trying to hit it as far as I could, but now I’m trying to get in the field, get it in play.”

That practical approach was on display against Yankton as the Eagles were able to find their pitches and put the ball in play.

“I think we only had one strikeout looking today, and that’s been kind of a big thing for us this year is going up to the plate and finding a way to compete, giving us a chance,” Neer said. “You can’t do anything with strikeouts looking, so going up there and putting the ball in play, forcing the defense to make errors, we did just that.”

The Golden Eagles, who are back in action at defending State AA champion Sioux Falls Lincoln next Saturday, will take some momentum from their contest against Yankton, because of the way they kept grinding and never giving up.

“I think that’s super important to us, and our coaches have been preaching to keep going,” Siefken said. “I know that this is our second year in this, but I think we’re coming back and we’re being better than ever.”

Yankton 412 320 1 – 13 9 2

Aberdeen Central 200 202 0 – 6 14 2

T. Hansen and P. Moser; Kaylee Kiesow, Kylee Hoffman (6) and Alivia Roettle. 2B – Yankton, E. Eichacker 2, C. Drotzmann; Aberdeen Central, Rachel Siefken. 3B – Yankton, Moser; Aberdeen Central, Ayrlie Waldo. HR – Yankton, Moser.