Burlington, IA – No. 14 Indian Hills Softball closed out its opening weekend of play with a pair of victories at the SCC Turf Tournament at the FunCity Dome on Sunday. The Warriors dropped Rock Valley College (IL) 6-5 before rolling to an 18-2 victory over Black Hawk College (IL) in the finale.

After dropping a pair of games to open its season on Friday, Indian Hills bounced back to pick up two key victories on Sunday afternoon, the first two wins under first-year head coach Tarah Rayos. Friday afternoon saw the Warriors caught up in a pair of pitching duels, but the Indian Hills offense erupted on Sunday to score 24 runs to move to 2-2 on the year.

The Warriors jumped out to a 4-0 lead over Rock Valley in Sunday's opener before holding off a late surge from the Golden Eagles. Indian Hills pounded out 13 hits on the day, including five extra base knocks. In the nightcap vs. Black Hawk, the Warrior offense exploded with six runs in the first inning and seven in the second frame as six different individuals collected at least two hits in the win.

Sophomore Sara Reid (Central City, IA/Central City) picked up the win in the circle in game one against Rock Valley after striking out eight batters in 5.2 innings of work. Freshman Ashlynn Sheets (Ottumwa, IA/Ottumwa) closed out the game with a save as the Golden Eagles threatened late, but the southpaw held on for the victory.

Jordyn Beck (Marion, IA/Linn-Mar) secured the win in the circle against Black Hawk, the freshman's first collegiate victory as the Warrior offense paired with an impressive performance from the right-handed hurler.

The season-opening weekend saw freshman Peyton Raley (Arvada, CO/Arvada West) post a .583 (7-12) batting average through four contests while sophomore Eva Fulk (Ankeny, IA/Ankeny) recorded a .500 performance at the plate, going 7-14 on the weekend with three runs scored. As a team, 13 individuals collected at least one hit on the weekend, including four with at least four knocks.

Sunday's opener against Rock Valley saw Indian Hills take the early lead on an RBI groundout from Courtney Locke (Bow, WA/Burlington-Edison) in the second, scoring Julia Kwakernaak (The Hague, Netherlands/Segbroek College). The Warriors pushed the lead to 4-0 in the third thanks to a two-run double from Tatum Aragon (Fort Collins, CO/Fort Collins) and an RBI single from Jenna Lemley (Troy Mills, IA/North Linn).

The Golden Eagles responded with three runs in the bottom half of the third, but Fulk delivered an RBI single in fourth followed by a run-scoring double from Locke in the fifth for a 6-3 advantage. Rock Valley plated a pair in the bottom of the seventh, but Sheets held off the last-ditch effort for the team's first win of the year.

Fulk finished the opener 4-4 at the dish with a run and an RBI. Lemley and Kwakernaak both added two hits as the first four batters of the lineup combined to go 10-18 with five runs and four RBI.

Indian Hills wasted little time to jump on top of Black Hawk in the finale, scoring six runs in the first highlighted by an RBI double from Hannah Simpson (Fairfield, IA/Fairfield) and a two-run double from Locke. Simpson added another double in the second to score two as the offense erupted for seven runs.

Ella Daugherity (Sumner, MO/Brookfield) delivered a pinch-hit two-run double to build on the lead in the fourth while Ava Smith (Waukee, IA/Waukee Northwest) and Simpson added an RBI each to extend the lead to 17-2. Fulk capped the scoring with an RBI single to score Claire Tipton (Unionville, MO/Putnam County) in the fifth as Alivia Ruble (Lacona, IA/Southeast Warren) tossed a scoreless fifth frame with three strikeouts for the Warriors.

Fulk added three more hits in the win vs. Black Hawk while Simpson drove in four runs. Locke, Raley, Tipton, and Claire Mathews (Centerville, IA/Centerville) each delivered two hits in the win.

Kwakernaak, the team's returning All-American from a year ago, closed out the weekend with three doubles and three runs scored for the Warrior offense.

Indian Hills is set to begin its southern swing on Wednesday with a doubleheader at Volunteer State Community College (TN) before heading to the JUCO Extravaganza in Oxford, Al, home to the 2024 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) DI Softball World Series for six games, beginning February 23.

Looking for Indian Hills Athletics information straight to your inbox? Subscribe to our newsletter and mobile alerts to receive news, scores, highlights, and more in real-time: INDIAN HILLS ATHLETICS NEWSLETTER