Posted: Apr 27, 2023
Ottumwa, IA – A no-hitter and seven home runs Thursday led Indian Hills Softball to complete its regular season with an undefeated Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) record. The Warriors dropped Southeastern Community College twice, 5-0 and 8-0.
Sophomore Ryann Cheek (Eldridge, IA/North Scott) capped the Warriors' perfect conference season in style with a five-inning no-hitter in game two as Indian Hills concluded its ICCAC slate with an unblemished 18-0 mark. The Warriors used three home runs in the opener and four more in game two to power their way past the Blackhawks.
A good day for the long ball ��
— Indian Hills Softball (@WarriorSoftball) April 27, 2023
Seven more home runs today for 86 on the year, fourth most in school history and seventh-most in @NJCAASoftball this year! pic.twitter.com/Jvm872AQUy
Sophomore Destiny Lewis (Indianola, IA/Indianola) continued to distance herself in the Indian Hills record books with four home runs and seven RBI on the day to pace the offense. As a team, the Warriors connected on 17 hits while the pitching staff of Cheek and Madie Anderson (Mt. Pleasant, IA/Winfield Mt. Union) held Southeastern to just two hits total on the day.
Indian Hills finishes its regular season campaign with a 39-7 record to go along with the 18-0 conference mark. The undefeated conference record is the first since the 2005 squad went 8-0 in league play. Indian Hills owns three undefeated conference seasons since 2001 – 2005, 2003, and 2001, but the 18 wins are the most in an undefeated season in school history.
One day after sweeping Southeastern in the series opener, the Warriors returned to action on Thursday with an immediate splash as Lewis delivered a two-run home run in the first inning. Sydney Anderson (Elkhart, IA/North Polk) followed up with a two-run home run in the third before Lewis added a solo home run in the fifth to cap the scoring for the Warriors.
Madie Anderson allowed just two hits in the complete game victory to move to 15-3 on the year. The sophomore struck out eight batters to surpass the 100-strikeout milestone for the season. Anderson, who has now struck out more than 100 batters in each of the last two seasons, has won her last seven starts while allowing just three earned runs during the stretch.
At the plate, Lewis led the charge with a 3-3 effort including the two home runs.
The Warriors used two long balls in the first inning to build momentum early on in game two as Claire Tipton (Unionville, MO/Putnam County) and Lewis connected on solo home runs for the 2-0 lead. Abby Martin (Lamoni, IA/Lamoni) extended the lead to 4-0 in the third before freshman Eva Fulk (Ankeny, IA/Ankeny) delivered a two-run double in the same frame. The next at-bat saw Lewis drive a pitch over the right field wall for a two-run home run and give the Warriors the 8-0 advantage.
Cheek was stellar in the circle, allowing just one walk in the no-hit performance. In two of her last three outings, Cheek has tossed at least four innings without allowing a hit. The sophomore has allowed just two earned runs over her last 33.2 frames to boast a team-leading 0.94 earned run average.
Tipton has now hit a home run in four of the team's last five outings while Martin owns an 11-game hitting streak followed by a 10-game streak from Kwakernaak.
Over the team's last eight games, Lewis has connected on 10 home runs and now owns two of the top-four single season home run totals in school history. Lewis is currently tied for fourth-most in the nation with her 26 home runs on the year. The sophomore has hit the most home runs in the nation over the last two seasons.
The Warriors now turn their attention to postseason play where they will enter the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region XI Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed and will host No. 4 seed Southwestern Community College in a best two-of-three series at R.L. Hellyer Field. The first two games of the series will get underway at 2:00 PM Wednesday, May 3 with the if necessary game scheduled for the following day.
All the action can be seen live on GoHillsTV.
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