JUCO softball: Walk-off homer prevents IHCC sweep
Apr. 5—MASON CITY — In the end, the Indian Hills softball team found themselves in one jam too many to complete a series sweep at NIACC.
Anna Lensing blasted a one-out home run to center field in the bottom of the seventh, snapping an 8-8 tie with a walk-off three-run blast that allowed the Trojans to salvage the finale of a four-game set with the 12th-ranked Warriors. Indian Hills rallied from a 7-1 deficit after just two innings, taking an 8-7 lead in the fifth before escaping a bases-loaded jam in the sixth after NIACC tied the score with one out in the inning.
"As difficult as it is to forget the feeling we had walking off that field in the last game, there was a lot of good that happened this weekend," IHCC head softball coach Lindsay Diehl said. "In the series, we scored 41 runs and pounded out 56 hits over four games. It's hard not to be happy about that.
"I feel like a broken record saying we have to stay hungry and never take a pitch off, but it's what got us in trouble."
Indian Hills (21-5, 13-3 ICCAC) struggled early in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader. NIACC answered an opening-inning run with two run in the bottom of the first before ending Margot Van Eijl's day earlier with a five-run rally in the second.
Diehl called on C.J. Banner for the first time in over three weeks. The sophomore right hander righted the ship by keeping NIACC quite over the next four innings in her return from a wrist injury.
"C.J. wasn't as sharp as she needs to be, but we expected that after being out for three weeks," Diehl said. "It was great to have her back in the circle, and I know she will keep working towards regaining her usual form."
The Warrior offense went to work erasing NIACC's six-run lead, scoring five runs in the fourth including consecutive run-scoring doubles by Kaylee Bix and Anna Voigt. Indian Hills edged in front in the fifth when Peyton Moffet doubled and scored on a game-tying RBI single by Chloe Olson before Bryanna Mehaffy came home with the tiebreaking run on an RBI groundout.
"I am proud the kids did fight and came back and even took the lead, but then we needed to stay locked in," Diehl said.
Instead, NIACC (6-10, 4-10 ICCAC) rallied to tie the score before reliever Alexis Watson preserved the tie, striking out consecutive batters with the bases loaded in the sixth. After failing to snap the tie in the top of the seventh, Lensing delivered the winning blow in the bottom of the inning.
Mehaffy, Olson and Gretta Hartz each had three hits for the Warriors. Moffet finished 2-3 at the plate in the Saturday nightcap.
Malarie Huseman secured her team-leading 11th win of the season in the pitching circle in game three of the series, an 8-0 shutout victory for the Warriors, tossing a complete-game two-hitters in Saturday's opener. Huseman had far less trouble with the Trojans in her second start of the series after giving up seven runs over seven innings in a 12-7 win on Friday.
"Malarie was a different kid from Friday to Saturday. Tthat is the kind of reflection and growth we need to have after every game no matter what your previous performance was," Diehl said. "I really saw some growth from some kids, and they are starting to embrace what they bring to this team. We have some super talented kids but they have to stay within themselves and what they can do for us to be our best."
The Warrior bats were ready to play long ball in the opener as Bellis, Bix and Hartz all dialed long distance. Bellis' fourth-inning bomb was her team leading seventh on the season, while Hartz tagged her fifth on the year in the second inning, a three-run job. Bix's two-run blast came in the fifth inning and was her first collegiate round-tripper.
Bellis went 3-3 at the plate with three RBIs and three runs scored. Bix was 2-3 with two runs scored, hammering her first intercollegiate home run during the series.
"The kids really are learning and headed in the right direction," Diehl said. "I'm looking forward to what the next six weeks look like for us as a team."
JUCO SOFTBALL
FRIDAY
Indian Hills 12, NIACC 7
IHCC 010 810 2 — 12 17 2
NIACC 001 041 1 — 7 7 7
Indian Hills battery — Malarie Huseman (W, 10-3) (7IP, 7H, 7R, 6ER, 10K, 8BB), Alex Beard catching.
2B — Beard, Anna Voigt.
3B — Peyton Moffet.
Hits — Voigt 4-5, Bryanna Mehaffy 3-5, Kaylee Bix 2-4, Peyton Moffet 2-4, Hannah Poortinga 2-4, Beard 2-5, Gretta Hartz 1-4, Nicole Bellis 1-5.
RBI — Bellis 4, Bix 3, Beard, Hartz, Moffet, Chloe Olson, Voigt.
Runs — Beard 2, Mehaffy 2, Moffet 2, Voigt 2, Eryn Ackerman, Bix, Hartz, Poortinga.
NIACC battery — Laken Lienhard (L, 3-4) (7IP, 17H, 12R, 10ER, 7K, BB, HBP), Hailey Worman catching.
2B — Riley Nelson.
HR — Lienhard (2), Worman.
Hits — Lienhard 2-3, Mckenzey Johnson 1-1, Kayla Noelker 1-3, Worman 1-3, Anna Lensing 1-4, Nelson 1-4.
RBI — Worman 4, Lienhard 2.
Runs — Lienhard 3, Rayvn Krachey, Lensing, Noelker, Worman.
Indian Hills 13, NIACC 4
IHCC 305 14 — 13 19 0
NIACC 012 10 — 4 6 2
Indian Hills battery — Margot Van Eijl (W, 6-0) (5IP, 6H, 4R, 4ER, 5K, 3BB), Alex Beard catching.
2B — Nicole Bellis, Maddy Findley, Peyton Moffet.
Hits — Chloe Olson 4-4, Bellis 3-4, Hannah Poortinga 3-4, Gretta Hartz 2-2, Beard 2-4, Bryanna Mehaffy 2-4, Findley 1-3, Anna Voigt 1-3, Moffet 1-4.
RBI — Bellis 4, Beard 3, Hartz 2, Poortinga 2, Findley, Olson.
Runs — Bellis 3, Mehaffy 3, Olson 2, Beard, Findley, Hartz, Moffet, Poortinga.
NIACC battery — Kayla Sproul (L, 0-4) (4 2/3IP, 18H, 13R, 9ER, K) and Sydni Coleman (1/3IP, H), Macy Alexander catching.
2B — Alexander, Rayvn Krachey, Laken Lienhard.
3B — Hailey Worman.
Hits — Alexander 2-2, Krachey 1-2, Lienhard 1-2, Bri Notreman 1-3, Worman 1-3.
RBI — Alexander, Krachey, Riley Nelson, Worman.
Runs — Mckenzey Johnson, Lienhard, Noterman, Worman.
SATURDAY
Indian Hills 8, NIACC 0
IHCC 130 22 — 8 11 0
NIACC 000 00 — 0 2 1
Indian Hills battery — Malarie Huseman (W, 11-3) (5IP, 2H, 4K, 3BB, HBP), Alex Beard catching.
3B — Bryanna Mehaffy.
HR — Nicole Bellis, Kaylee Bix, Gretta Hartz.
Hits — Bellis 3-3, Bix 2-3, Mehaffy 1-2, Anna Voigt 1-2, Beard 1-3, Hartz 1-3, Peyton Moffet 1-3, Chloe Olson 1-3.
RBI — Bellis 3, Hartz 3, Bix 2.
Runs — Bix 2, Voigt 2, Bellis, Hartz, Mehaffy, Moffet.
NIACC battery — Kayla Sproul (L, 0-5) (3 1/3IP, 8H, 4R, 4ER) and Mckenna Mentnick (1 2/3IP, 3H, 4R, 4ER, K, BB), Hailey Worman catching.
Hits — Mckenzey Johnson 1-2, Kayla Noelker 1-2.
NIACC 11, Indian Hills 8
IHCC 100 520 0 — 8 16 0
NIACC 250 001 3 — 11 11 2
Indian Hills battery — Margot Van Eijl (IP, 5H, 5R, 5ER, K, BB), C.J. Banner (4IP, 4H, 3R, 3ER, 3K, 2BB, 2HBP) and Alexis Watson (L, 1-1) (1 1/3IP, 2H, 3R, 3ER, 3K, 2BB), Peyton Moffet and Alex Beard catching.
2B — Kaylee Bix, Peyton Moffet, Anna Voigt.
Hits — Gretta Hartz 3-4, Bryanna Mehaffy 3-4, Chloe Olson 3-5, Moffet 2-3, Beard 1-2, Bix 1-2, Breanna Newton 1-2, Voigt 1-3, Gracie Jevyak 1-5.
RBI — Voigt 2, Bellis, Bix, Jevyak, Moffet, Olson.
Runs — Moffet 3, Mehaffy 2, Bix, Hartz, Olson.
NIACC battery — Sydni Coleman (3IP, 6H, 2R, 2ER, 5BB) and Kayla Sproul (W, 1-5) (4IP, 10H, 6R, 6ER, 2K, BB), Macy Alexander and Rayvn Krachey catching.
HR — Anna Lensing, Mckenna Mentnick, Bri Notreman.
Hits — Lensing 3-4, Laken Lienhard 3-5, Coleman 1-2, Mentnick 1-2, Riley Nelson 1-3, Kayla Noelker 1-3, Notreman 1-3.
RBI — Lensing 5, Mentnick 2, Alexander, Dara Hoskins, Noelker, Notreman.
Runs — Leinhard 3, Hailey Worman 3, Kennedy Colbert, Coleman, Lensing, Mentnick, Notreman.
