Walk-Off Seals the Deal Against the Cougars
The RedTails hosted conference opponent Northeast Iowa Community College on April 8th. The RedTails swept the Cougars, winning game one 9-6 and game two 6-5.
Game One: 9 (HCC), 6 (NICC)
The RedTails scored in exciting fashion in the second inning. Emilee Bergmann walked, Jordan Eads hit a single, and Mackenzie Bridgewater drew a walk to load the bases for Isabelle Kriegel, who then stepped up and hit a grand slam to score four runs.
With a 4-0 ballgame, the game was a pitcher's dual until the fifth inning when Northeast got on the board. They scored two runs on a single and home run.
Hawkeye quickly responded in the bottom of the fifth. Mya Chamberlin hit a single and moved to second on a wild pitch. Ellie Lorenz walked and Chamberlin advanced on a passed ball, putting runners on the corners. Alyvia Anderson hit into a fielder's choice, allowing Chamberlin to score, and Jordan Trueblood hit a single, letting Lorenz cross home plate. Rylie Devlin and Bridgewater each singled themselves to put across Trueblood, Jordan Eads, and Devlin, giving the RedTails a comfortable 9-2 lead.
Down to their last three outs, the Cougars saw some fight left. They put up four runs on a walk, two singles, and a homerun, but the RedTails shut down the threat and completed the inning, giving Hawkeye a 9-6 win.
At the plate, Chamberlin led the way going 3-4 with one run scored. Kriegel added four runs batted in, and Trueblood, Eads, and Bridgewater each had multi-hits. On the mound, Chamberlin got the win, going six innings, giving up six hits, two earned runs, and eight strikeouts. Kyra Ballard threw one inning, giving up three hits, four earned runs, one walk, and two strikeouts.
Game Two: 6 (HCC), 5 (NICC)
Game two saw a lot of exciting action from both teams. Northeast Iowa jumped out on top to start, scoring on a walk and homerun.
Down 2-0, the RedTails put up some runs in the second inning. Anderson hit a double and scored on a Hailey Harbour homerun. Bergmann then drew a walk and scored on an Eads homerun, making it 4-2 in favor of Hawkeye.
NICC responded in the top of the third, scoring on a single, RedTail error, and homerun, giving them a 5-4 lead.
Down one run in the bottom of the sixth, Anderson started a single to rally the bats. She quickly advanced to third on two passed balls, and scored on a sacrifice fly from Harbour, tying the game 5 all.
The defense of the RedTails shut down the Cougars in the seventh inning, putting the bat in hands of Devlin. She forced a Cougar error to reach first base and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Bridgewater. A wild pitch moved her to third, and Kriegel hit a single to score her, giving the RedTails the walk-off win.
At the plate, Harbour led the way going 1-2 with one run scored and three runs batted in. Anderson had two hits as well. Lillian McCarty got the win on the mound, going all seven innings, giving up eight hits, five runs, four earned, one walk, and two strikeouts.
The RedTails continue their conference play this weekend, traveling to Columbus, Nebraska and Norfolk, Nebraska and Saturday and Sunday respectively. The RedTails will makeup their postponed game at 12:00 PM on Saturday, with a double header to follow. Sunday they will face Northeast Community College at 1:00 & 3:00 PM.
