Indian Softball Works Around Storms, Faces Stiff Competition
Megan Mooreman keeps an eye on the Indianola’s 3rd base runner.
by Wade Steinlage
The Oskaloosa Indian softball team took on some of the best teams in the entire state this week.
Oskaloosa (24-8, 12-4 LHC) opened the week with a 3-2 win over Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont Tuesday. The team then fell 10-0 (6 innings) to Indianola Wednesday, but bounced back Thursday with a 10-1 victory over Pella Christian.
The squad traveled east Friday and Saturday to compete in the Iowa City West Tournament. On Friday, OHS first faced off against Class 4A #8 North Scott and won 6-4, but then was nipped by Class 5A #1 Cedar Rapids Kennedy 2-1. On Saturday, the Indians were defeated 10-4 by Bettendorf and 14-3 by Class 5A #2 Pleasant Valley. Unfortunately, stats are not available for the four games at the tournament.
OHS 3, Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont 2
The Indians outhit E-B-F 10-3 and led 3-0 entering the final inning, but had to hang on as the Rockets scored twice in the seventh frame. The Rockets entered the game ranked #4 in Class 3A.
Hayle Hacker tallied just one strikeout, but kept E-B-F off balance in the three-hit shutout. Josie Bunnell, Taylor Wills, and Meghan Moorman were all 2-for-3; Bunnell paced the crew with a home run and two runs scored.
“This was a good win over a very good team,” Head Coach Jay Harms said. “They were hitting .367 as a team, but Hayle threw really well. We also did a nice job of coming up with timely hits off their very good pitcher Randie Richmond.”
Indianola 10, OHS 0
Oskaloosa ended up on the wrong end against another ranked foe as Indianola’s Sydney Sickels tallied 14 strikeouts and limited OHS to one hit. Conversely, IHS, which is #5 in Class 5A, managed 14 base knocks and scored in four separate innings.
Ava Vande Wall produced her squad’s lone hit, while Hacker struck out seven in five innings of action.
“Indianola showed why it is ranked so high in Class 5A and why it is leading the Little Hawkeye Conference,” Harms said. “They completely dominated us in all three of our games against them, outscoring us 24-0. It was the second night in a row that we faced a First-Team All-State pitcher, but the results unfortunately were totally different on this night.”
OHS 10, Pella Christian 1
The Indians took their previous night’s frustrations out on the Eagles, owning a 15-2 edge in hits.
OHS led just 2-1 after two innings and was still up only 3-1 entering the sixth, but blew the contest wide open late. Oskaloosa scored four times in the sixth and three more times in the seventh.
Anna Jones powered OHS to the victory with a 3-for-5 effort that included two RBIs and two runs scored. Maddie Haines posted just one hit, but it was a big one as she drove in all four sixth-inning runs on a grand slam. Vande Wall, Moorman, Wills, Hacker, and Kaylee Johnson (two RBIs) all had two hits in the win, while Lauren Coon matched Jones and Wills with two runs apiece.
Oskaloosa led 7-1 in the bottom of the third, but unfortunately the nightcap was called due to rain. The matchup will not be rescheduled.
