OTTUMWA, IA – No. 18-ranked Indian Hills completed a sweep of Ellsworth Monday afternoon in a four-game set that took four days to complete.

IHCC (27-7 overall, 19-5 ICCAC) took both ends of the first doubleheader on Friday that was originally scheduled for Saturday.  Heavy rains did come Saturday which resulted in Sunday's twinbill being moved to Monday.  Despite the wait, the outcome mirrored Friday's result as the Warriors defeated Ellsworth in both contests Monday, 11-3 in five innings in the opener, and 5-2 in the four-game finale.

In a relentless pursuit of reaching her team's potential, IHCC Head Coach Lindsay Diehl attempted to emphasis the fact that two games were won on Monday, yet she admitted that lots of areas still need work for these Warriors to get to where she wants them to be.

"I told them in the postgame that I want to focus on the fact that we were able to walk away with two wins today," Diehl said.  "But we're still getting in our own heads and creating this pressure on ourselves.  So, the conversation today was about just staying within ourselves and taking a deep breath and quit thinking about I have to get a hit to score these runs and that kind of stuff.  We were a little mental today, and not in a good way."

Even with the inner struggle, the outward results led to an eight-run victory that only took five innings to complete in the opener.  It was clear the Warriors came ready to play as they posted a six-run opening frame and were poised to enact the run-rule with a 9-2 lead after just three innings.

The Warriors took advantage of three Panther errors and a wild pitch in combination with four hits to plate the six runs in the first. Nicole Bellis, Chloe Olson and Breanna Newton all singled and Kaylee Bix doubled to get the IHCC merry-go-round on the bases spinning.

Indian Hills gave back a pair of runs in the top of the second aided by a passed ball and an error on the same play as ECC got back to within 6-2, but the Warrior bats kept the pressure on as an Olson RBI-single in the second and a run-scoring single from Bryanna Mehaffy in the third made it 8-2 in favor of the hosts.  IHCC wasn't done in the frame; however, as Bellis was back at it with a ringing RBI-triple to right that saw the Warrior right fielder come all the way around after another Panther error on the relay allowed her to pop up and scamper home to put Indian Hills in command, 10-2.

"I'm pleased with what we're what we're doing," Diehl said. "I just know what they're capable of. And I told the team that we haven't played our best yet and I think they're going surprise me by waiting for the end of the season to play their best, and that would be alright."

Ellsworth would prolong the contest in the top of the fifth as a Chelsea Buck single drove in Kailey Becket, but the Warriors would answer that run in the bottom half as Kennedy Preston reached on another Panther error, their sixth of the game, to plate Mehaffy and game one was in the books.

Mehaffy led the offensive charge in the opener with a 3-for-4 stat line that included an RBI and four runs scored.  Bellis, Olson and Newton each had a pair of hits while Bellis, Olson and Gretta Hartz knocked in two runs each.

Malarie Husemen (13-5) earned the win in the circle in three innings of work.  She struck out three and walked one while surrendering two runs.  Diehl took down Huseman in the fourth inning and brought on C.J. Banner, and the move was merely an effort to get a recovering hurler in Banner some time on the field.

"I thought that Mallory did a nice stepping out there, but I wanted to get C.J. some innings before we go over Iowa Western," Diehl explained. "So when I took Mal out, I told her it wasn't anything that she was doing that I didn't like, it was just that I needed to get C.J some time on the mound, and they were a good mix of each other and it's good to see C.J. back."

Banner finished the final two innings allowing one run on one walk while fanning three.

Game two was not the offensive output that the Warriors had in the opener, but IHCC did carry a 5-0 lead into the final inning.  Starter Margot van Eijl (10-0) was touched with back-to-back homeruns to lead off the top of the seventh to account for ECC's only runs.  Van Eijl allowed six hits on three walks while striking out two.

Olson capped the doubleheader by driving in all five of IHCC's runs with a two-RBI single in the first, a RBI double in the third, and a two-run homer in the fifth.  Olson's round-tripper, her team-leading tenth of the year gave her 34 career homers, just one shy of Breon Michel (1998-2000), who is second all-time in IHCC homeruns with 35, and two short of all-time leader, Brooke Snider (2018-2020) who had 36 between her freshman year in 2019 and last season's interrupted campaign.

Mehaffy followed up her 3-for-4 performance in the opener with another 3-for-4 day at the plate in the nightcap.  The Warrior shortstop accounted for another four runs scored, giving her eight of IHCC's 16 runs on the day.

"She was back in her own element and looked good today," Diehl said of Mehaffy. "She made some plays on defense, too.  She's fun.  She's fun to coach."

IHCC travels to Council Bluffs on Wednesday to take on rival Iowa Western (28-8, 15-7).

"I talk to the Iowa Western coach all the time over there that it's just a weird year, a funky year," Diehl added. "Some scores have been crazy and crooked and lopsided, and I know that this is a big rivalry and I'm confident in what my kids are going do over there, and I look forward to the opportunity to go send a message on Wednesday."

First pitch from Council Bluffs is set for 2 p.m.

GAME ONE

Ellsworth        020 01 – 3  5  6

Indian Hills    613  01 – 11 12 1

Chloe Roberts and Mya Mathes.   Malarie Huseman, C.J. Banner (4) and Kennedy Preston.

W – Huseman, 13-5.  L – Roberts.

E – Preston.  LOB – IH 6, ECC 4.  2B – Hartz.  3B  - Bellis.  RBI – Bellis 2, Bix, Hartz 2, Mehaffy, Newton, Olson 2.  HBP – Hartz.  SB – Hartz, Mehaffy 3.

GAME TWO

Ellsworth        000 000 2 – 2  6  2

Indian Hills    201  020 x – 5  8  0

Delaney Vetter, Cheyanne Collins (6) and Mya Mathes.  Margot van Eijl and Alex Beard, Preston (7).

W- van Eijl, 10-0.  L – Vetter.

LOB – IH 7, ECC 7.  2B – Olson.  HR – Olson.  RBI – Olson 5.  SB - Bix