Ottumwa, IA – The Indian Hills Softball team earned an Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) split with Iowa Western at R.L. Hellyer Field on Thursday, dropping the opener 12-9 before rallying back for a 5-3 victory.
The Warriors battled to a conference split with the Reivers who currently sit atop the ICCAC standings. Indian Hills moves to 31-21 overall on the year and 9-5 in ICCAC play while the Reivers hold steady atop the standings at 33-17 overall and 13-3 in league play.
Thursday's opener say a flurry of offense as both teams put up a run in the first frame before exchanging two-run frames in the third to even the game at three. The Reivers broke things open with three runs in the fourth and four in the fifth before the Warriors put together a valiant comeback. Trailing 10-3 in the bottom half of the sixth, sophomore Jenna Lemley (Troy Mills, IA/North Linn) connected on her fourth home run of the year to spark a rally. Peyton Raley (Arvada, CO/Arvada West) drove in two more in the frame as the Warriors battle back to a 10-6 deficit.
Jenna Lemley sparks us in the 6th ��
— Indian Hills Softball (@WarriorSoftball) April 25, 2024
A solo shot to right center gives Jenna her 4th home run of the year.@GoHillsTv | #EveryDayWarriors pic.twitter.com/ZRA4VIFf5B
Iowa Western answered back with two runs in the top of the seventh only to see the Warriors rally once again in their final at bat. An RBI single from Eva Fulk (Ankeny, IA/Ankeny) and a two-run error allowed Indian Hills to pull within three, but proved to be too much as the Warriors fell short.
Raley, this week's ICCAC Athlete of the Week, tallied three hits to go along with two runs scored and the two RBI. Fulk, Julia Kwakernaak (The Hague, Netherlands/Segbroek College), and Courtney Locke (Bow, WA/Burlington-Edison) each added two knocks.
Game two saw Iowa Western stake a 2-0 lead in the top half of the first, but the Warriors responded immediately with three runs in the bottom of the frame. Raley continued to star at the plate, driving in a run with a base hit before the Warriors took advantage of another Reiver error to plate two more.
Iowa Western evened the contest at three in the second, but a solo home run from KWakernaak in the third put Indian Hills back on top. Kwakernaak added another solo home run in the fifth to cap the scoring.
Sophomore Sara Reid (Central City, IA/Central City), this week's ICCAC Pitcher of the Week, went the distance in the circle for the Warriors, retiring 14 consecutive batters and 15 of the final 16 Reivers. Reid improved to 14-6 with the win after scattering eight hits with just two earned runs allowed.
Kwakernaak finished 3-3 at the dish for the Warriors with the two home runs. Over the team's previous six games, all ICCAC contests, the sophomore is batting .565 with four home runs and 11 RBI.
With four hits on the day, including one the nightcap, Raley extended her season-high hitting streak to 17 games for the Warriors.
The Warriors currently sit in third place in the ICCAC standings with two league games to play. Iowa Western has secured the No. 1 overall seed for postseason play while Southeastern Community College has three league games to play to close out the year which will determine the No. 2 and No. 3 overall seeds for postseason with the Warriors.
Indian Hills returns to action Monday afternoon for the regular season finale against Southwestern Community College at R.L. Hellyer Field. Originally scheduled for Sunday afternoon, Monday's affair will also serve as Sophomore Day with a post-game reception. The 2024 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) DI Softball Region 11 Championship gets underway Wednesday, May 1.
