Alvin, TX – The Indian Hills Softball team picked up its first two wins of the year on Monday, sweeping Alvin Community College (TX) 12-2 and 11-9 in an extra inning affair. The Warriors improve to 2-3 overall on the year.
"It felt good to get in the win column today," stated head coach Lindsay Diehl. "We have grown a ton in the last 48 hours and we hope to continue to play the way I feel we are capable. We switched our focus to winning each pitch and stopped thinking about winning the game. When we do that, the outcome takes care of itself. We made adjustments at the plate and passed the bat."
Freshman Sydney Anderson (Elkhart, IA/North Polk) collected four hits on the day while Destiny Lewis (Indianola, IA/Indianola) finished a triple shy of the cycle in game two. In total, 20 different Warriors saw game action on Monday as the offense put together its best showing of the young season with a total of 26 hits on Monday.
Deadlocked at zero through the first three innings of game one, the Warriors erupted for eight runs in the top of the fourth. Anderson ignited the Warriors with an RBI double to start the scoring. Maddy Findley (Knoxville, IA/Knoxville) connected on a three-run home to give Indian Hills a 6-0 lead. After batting around in the frame, Anderson added another RBI single to extend the lead to 8-0.
Alvin responded with a pair in the bottom half only to see Indian Hills tack on three more runs over the final two innings. An RBI triple from Abbi Cataldo (Altoona, IA/Southeast Polk) capped the scoring to give the Warriors its first win of the season.
Both Anderson and Yanna Roberts (Davenport, IA/Davenport North) collected two hits in the win while Findley finished with a team-high four RBI. Carly Campbell (Homestead, IA/Williamsburg) added a solo shot as well, the first of her collegiate career.
Madi Huisman (Ankeny, IA/Ankeny Centennial) went the distance in the circle, working all six innings while allowing just two hits and striking out four batters for her first career win as a Warrior.
Game two saw a back-and-forth battle between the two programs as both sides filled the scoreboard through the first three innings. Lewis' big game began in the top of the first with a run-scoring double. An RBI-double from Gretta Hartz (Runnells, IA/Southeast Polk) in the top of the second gave Indian Hills a 2-1 lead only to see the Lady Dolphins respond with three runs in the bottom half of the inning.
A pair of RBI singles from Breanna Newton (Bettendorf, IA/Bettendorf) and Campbell in the top of the third tied the game at four, but Alvin once again responded, this time with four runs in the bottom of the third. Both teams traded zeroes over the next two frames as Indian Hills trailed 8-4.
In the top of the sixth, the Warriors once again looked to Lewis and Anderson who each collected run-scoring knocks, including a two-run double from Anderson as part of a four-run inning to tie the game at eight. After a run from Alvin in the bottom of the sixth, Kennedy Preston (Carlisle, IA/Carlisle) drove in Sydney McNeeley (Pleasant Hill, IA/Southeast Polk) in the seventh for another tie ballgame, 9-9.
Madie Anderson (Mt. Pleasant, IA/Winfield Mt. Union), who entered the game in the circle to start the fourth, pushed the game to extra innings with a stellar seventh frame, sitting Alvin down in order, including a pair of strikeouts to set the stage for the Warriors' late-game heroics.
On the second pitch of the at-bat to start the top of the eighth, Lewis sent a solo shot to left to put Indian Hills ahead, 10-9. Four pitches later, Sydney Anderson followed up with a solo shot of her own to double the Warrior lead.
Madie Anderson took the circle in the final frame and despite back-to-back singles with one out, the freshman hurler forced two fly balls to end the game and give Indian Hills the sweep.
Lewis finished the game 3-5 with three RBI while Sydney Anderson added three RBI. Campbell put together a strong showing, going 3-4 while Hartz added two hits for the Warriors.
Madie Anderson finished the game with six punchouts in five innings of work, allowing just one unearned run with zero walks.
"Our pitching staff also did a much better job today and Madie Anderson came in and shut Alvin down," Diehl added. "Game two was a full team effort with 20 kids getting in the game in some fashion. I was happy to see our bats come to life and put runs on the board."
Indian Hills continues its Texas road trip with a two-game set at Tyler Junior College (TX) on Tuesday. First pitch is set for 2:00 PM.