The Cape softball team gave Lake Forest all it could handle in a 12-8 loss April 2 at Bill Cordrey Field.

The Vikings outhit the 2025 Henlopen Conference champions 11-9 in the game.

Lake jumped off to a 5-2 lead but the never-say-die Vikings tied it up at five in the fourth. The Spartans added three in the sixth and four in the seventh. Cape got three more in the seventh but fell just short. 

Jordyn Bowe led Cape at the dish, going 2-for-5 with three RBIs. Olivia Mekulski and Emma Reynolds each had two hits and an RBI. Alivia Longo, Madilynne O’Malley and Riley Windish added an RBI, with Windish and Reynolds each hitting a double.

Sara Craig started in the circle, pitching 5.1 innings and recording four strikeouts. Windish came in from the bullpen to throw 1.2 innings, striking out two.

“I was extremely proud of how they competed and continued to battle,” said Cape coach Mike Tkach. “To me, we took a huge step forward as far as coming together as a team. We’re gonna say it many times: Yes, we are young and we haven’t played together a whole lot, but today was a big step. We put 11 hits on the board, but the frustrating part is we left a lot of runners on the bases. What I hope will happen is that we’re gonna continue to progress.”

Rylan Rust and Breanna Hall homered for the Spartans. 

“We just have to stay positive and continue working,” said Tkach. “Good things will happen for this team.” 

The Vikings travel to the Pyle Center in Roxana to take on Sussex Tech at 4:15 p.m., Thursday, April 9.