March 28, 2024

Area softball roundup: PCM sweeps, Lynnville-Sully streak up to 25

PELLA — Two of Prairie City-Monroe’s biggest offensive games of the season propelled the Mustangs to a pair of victories on Saturday.

The Mustangs beat Humboldt, 12-2, in their first game and then wiped out Pella Christian, 13-2, in their second game.

PCM totaled 14 hits against Humboldt and broke the game open in the fourth inning thanks in part to a bases-loaded error. Sandwiched between run-producing hits from Jennafer Uitermarkt and Makenna Van Veen was an error by Humboldt shortstop Beth Duffield that resulted in three more runs for the Mustangs. PCM’s lead grew from 3-1 at the beginning of the fourth to 8-1 by the end of the inning.

PCM used another five-run inning against Pella Christian to widen its lead in the second game of the day for the Mustangs.

PCM scored five times in the fifth against the host Eagles, increasing their lead to 7-0.

The Mustangs had a season-high 17 hits against Pella Christian and won their fourth straight for the first time since winning the first eight games of the season.

PCM (16-7) hosts Collins-Maxwell/Baxter (12-12) tonight at 7:30 in Monroe.

Lynnville-Sully winning

streak up to 25

Lynnville-Sully improved the state’s second-longest winning streak by adding three more victories to its impressive mark over the weekend.

The Hawks shut out Des Moines Christian and South Tama and used a consistent attack to top Class 2A No. 10 BCLUW.

Madison Rasmusson, Kasiah Ehresman and Becca Vos led Lynnville-Sully to an 8-0 defeat of Des Moines Christian on Friday.

Ehresman and Vos both contributed three hits while Rasmusson threw a complete game and struck out seven.

Vos and Shelby Davis drove in three runs apiece as Lynnville-Sully scored in four different innings against Des Moines Christian.

Rasmusson delivered three more solid innings in the circle on Saturday in the Hawks’ 12-0 victory over South Tama in three innings.

Lynnville-Sully scored four runs in the first, three in the second and five in the third against South Tama.

Rasmusson had three of her team’s nine hits. Davis and Vos again powered the lineup as they each had two RBI.

BCLUW tested Lynnville-Sully in the Hawks’ other game on Saturday. BCLUW took a 3-1 lead in the second inning, but Lynnville-Sully responded by scoring in each of the next four innings to earn a 6-3 win.

The Hawks made the most of their four hits by being aggressive on the base paths and stealing eight bases.

Rasmusson, who pitched all six innings against BCLUW while giving up five hits, extended two personal offensive streaks during her team’s recent play. The junior’s hitting streak is now up to eight games while she’s reached base in 25 straight games dating back to May 31.

Coincidentally, Lynnville-Sully’s last loss occurred on May 31. Only Akron-Westfield (27-0) has a longer current winning streak among all Iowa high school softball teams.

Colfax-Mingo splits at tournament

MARSHALLTOWN — The Tigerhawks split a pair of games on Saturday by beating South Tama and losing to Class 3A No. 11 Bondurant-Farrar.

Colfax-Mingo held off South Tama in the top of the seventh for a 6-5 victory in the Tigerhawks’ first game of the day. South Tama scored three runs in the seventh and stranded runners on second and third when Colfax-Mingo pitcher Amy Russell got Catie Collins to ground out to second for the game’s final out.

Russell led her team’s 12-hit day as the freshman went 3-for-3 at the plate with a home run and four RBI. Russell’s first-inning homer over the center-field fence gave Colfax-Mingo a 3-0 lead and her RBI-single in the sixth made it 4-2. Rhiannon Haley and Erin Earles also contributed RBI-hits in the sixth as the Tigerhawks added some much needed insurance runs.

Earles, Rylee Thompson and Ries Wilson all had two hits in the win.

The Tigerhawks played Bondurant-Farrar close in their second game on Saturday before Bondurant-Farrar scored five runs in the fifth inning and won, 6-1.

Russell’s bases-loaded walk of Ashley Burrows in the bottom of the fifth broke a 1-all tie before Emily Wilson padded the Bluejays’ lead with a one-out grand slam.

Wilson also homered in the first inning to give her team a 1-0 lead.

That sequence provided all the support Bondurant-Farrar pitcher Keely Bycroft needed as the junior retired six of the final eight Tigerhawk batters she faced.

Bycroft limited Colfax-Mingo to only three hits during her seven innings in the circle. She struck out seven and sat down the first seven hitters the Tigerhawks sent to the batter’s box.

Russell, Haley and Earles again provided Colfax-Mingo’s offense as the trio accounted for their team’s three hits.

Russell pitched six innings and allowed five hits in defeat. It was the first time this season the right hander gave up multiple home runs in one game.

Rainouts and make-ups

Multiple area teams saw games rained out last week.

Collins-Maxwell/Baxter cancelled its home tournament on Saturday due to wet field conditions.

Colfax-Mingo’s home game against PCM that was rained out on June 26 has been rescheduled for July 7 at 7 p.m. The game will be Colfax-Mingo’s ‘Senior Night.’ The Tigerhawks will also be wearing pink jerseys in honor of cancer victims.