Council Bluffs, IA – The Indian Hills Softball team wrapped up a strong weekend with an afternoon sweep at the IWCC Round Robin on Saturday afternoon. The Warriors closed out the weekend with a 3-1 record at the two-day event.
The Warriors capped the weekend with three straight wins after dropping its opening game on Friday. Indian Hills fell to North Iowa Area Community College 11-10 before dropping Hutchinson Community College (KS) 7-2 in Saturday's nightcap. The Warriors followed up with a 4-1 win over Hutchinson on Saturday and finished the weekend in dominant fashion with a 14-4 win over NIACC.
Indian Hills has now won four of its last five contests to move to 9-7 on the year.
Sophomore Eva Fulk (Akneny, IA/Anekny) paced the offense with a .636 batting average on the weekend, collecting five RBI and five runs for the Warriors. Indian Hills saw three-hit performances from Fulk, Tatum Aragon (Fort Collins, CO/Fort Collins), and Hannah Simpson (Fairfield, IA/Fairfield). Freshman Ashlynn Sheets (Ottumwa, IA/Ottumwa) secured two of the wins in the circle, earning a victory on each day.
In the opener vs. NIACC on Friday, the Warriors found themselves in a slugfest with the Trojans. The Warriors fell behind 6-1, but a three-run fourth inning and a four-run fifth inning, highlighted by a two-run double from Peyton Raley (Arvada, CO/Arvada West). The Trojans rallied back with four runs in the top of the sixth and a run in the seventh for an 11-8 advantage. The Warriors threatened in the bottom of the seventh as Fulk delivered a two-run double, but was left stranded to close out the game.
Fulk, Raley, Courtney Locke (Bow, WA/Burlington-Edison), Jenna Lemley (Troy Mills, IA/North Linn), and Larissa Miller (Ankeny, IA/Ankeny) each tallied two hits in the loss. Miller scored a season-high three runs for the Warriors while Raley and Fulk each collected three RBI.
The Warriors bounced back in the nightcap vs. Hutchinson, a team ranked in the top-20 of the preseason national poll. Back-to-back run-scoring doubles from Locke and Julia Kwakernaak (The Hague, Netherlands/Segbroek College) sparked a quick 2-0 lead in the top of the first for the Warriors. An RBI single from Simpson extended the lead to 3-1 in the fifth before the Warriors broke the game open in the fifth with four runs, all coming on two outs.
Sheets picked up the win in the circle with four innings of work, allowing just one earned run with four strikeouts. Sara Reid (Central City, IA/Central City) tossed the final three frames to close out the win.
The Warriors responded the next day with their second consecutive win over the Blue Dragons. Indian Hills slowly pulled away from Hutchinson with a run in the second and two more in the fourth as Ava Sith (Waukee, IA/Waukee Northwest) delivered her first-career home run, a two-run shot to center. Aragon delivered a run-scoring double in the fifth to push the lead to 4-0.
Reid went all seven innings in the circle with just one earned run allowed to secure the win. The sophomore scattered seven hits to limit the potent offense, a team that had scored 88 runs in its previous five contests.
After dropping its first two contests against NIACC to open the year, the Warriors came through in the weekend finale with an offensive onslaught to pick up its third consecutive win. Indian Hills struck early and often with three runs in each of the first two frames, highlighted by a run-scoring triple from Smith and a two-run home run from Simpson. Leading 7-1 through five innings of play, the Warriors poured it on in the seventh with a seven-spot to end the game after six innings.
Fulk finished the finale 3-3 with four runs scored while Aragon tallied three doubles to go along with five RBI. Simpson drove in three runs of her own with a 3-4 performance.
Sheets went the distance to move to 4-2 on the year. The freshman allowed just one earned run and punched out four batters in the victory.
The Warriors return to action Sunday afternoon with a road trip to Overland Park, KS. Indian Hills will take on Johnson County Community College for a doubleheader. First pitch is set for 1:00 PM.
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