The Iowa Lakes Softball splits with #11 Iowa Central on Wednesday. Every athlete in the lineup had a multi-hit game, to propel the Lakers to a 17-7 win in 6 innings game one win. The Lakers then lost an 8-5 heartbreaker in the bottom of the 7th in game two. The Lakers are now 5-7 overall and 5-5 in the conference.
Game One: ILCC 17, ICCC 7 (6 innings)
Iowa Central struck first in the bottom of the first on a solo homerun.
The scored remained 1-0, until the Lakers scored six runs on two outs in the top of the third. Maksim singled to right, before she was forced out at second on a ground ball to the pitcher. With Johnson on first, Allison McCabe hit a high fly ball that was misplayed by the Tritons and put runners on the corners. McCabe then stole second, which allowed Johnson to score the first Laker run of the game on the throwdown. McCabe advanced to second when the Tritons threw the ball back to home to try and get Johnson. Kaitlin Roundy stepped up and drove a hard ground ball through the middle of the field to make the score 2-1. Kamryn Buntrock quickly followed Roundy with a single of her own and Mackenna Otte walked to load the bases. Kiley Hill drew another walk to score Roundy before Amanda Franke tripled to right to clear the bases and put the Lakers up 6-1.
Iowa Lakes again did damage on two outs in the top of the fourth. With Johnson on first with a single, Roundy and Buntrock both singled to score Johnson and put runners on the corners. Otte doubled to right to score Roundy, before Hill made the score 10-1 on a single up the middle. The Tritons got two runs of their own back in the bottom half of the inning on four hits.
The Lakers quickly responded by putting up two runs in the fifth. Chase led off the inning with a shot down the right field line. She took advantage of a passed ball to advance to third and scored on a single from Maksim. Johnson was then hit by a pitch to advance Maksim. Maksim again had heads up baserunning, advancing herself to third on a ball in the dirt. McCabe ripped a shot down the line to score Maksim and put the Lakers up 12-3
Iowa Central put up four runs of their own in their half of the inning. They did this on three hits and two walks.
Iowa Lakes put the game out of reach for the Tritons in the sixth. Otte reached on a Triton error and then scored on three consecutive singles from Hill, Franke, and Chase. With the bases loaded, Maksim drove a ball off the left field fence to score two more runs. McCabe drove in the final two runs of the game on a hard ball down the third base line.
The Lakers combined for 17 hits in the game. Allison McCabe was 3-4 with one double, three runs batted in, one run scored, and one walk. Lexi Chase and Kailey Maksim also had three hits in the game, while Kiley Hill, Kailey Maksim, and Amanda Franke each drove in three runs. Lexi Chase picked up her fifth win of the season, improving her record to 5-2. She allowed seven earned runs on ten hits and three walks, while striking out four Triton batters.
Game Two: ILCC 5, ICCC 8
Iowa Lakes scored the first run of the game in the top of the third. Chase led off the inning on a ball down the first base line. She then advanced on a ground out from Maksim, before advancing to third on a passed ball. McCabe laid down a perfect bunt down the line to score Chase and give the Lakers their first lead of the game. Iowa Central quickly evened up the score, scoring one run on a walk, hit by pitch, and a sacrifice fly.
Chase did not allow that lead to last, hitting her first homerun of the season to put the Lakers up 3-1. Hill had doubled earlier in the inning to ensure a runner on for Chase's trip around the bases. The Tritons forced the fourth lead change of the game in the bottom half of the inning. This happened on four hits and one walk. Iowa Central scored another run in the fifth on two hits.
Iowa Lakes tied the ballgame back up at 5-5 in the sixth. Hill led off with her third hit of the game and advanced to third on an error on the bunt from Franke. Franke stole second and Hill then scored on an RBI ground out from Chase. With Franke on third, Johnson drove a ball to center to score the Lakers final run of the game.
The Lakers and Tritons were tied entering the bottom of the seventh, but Iowa Central won the battle. They scored three runs on two doubles and a walk off homerun.
Kiley Hill led the Lakers at the plate, going a perfect 3-3 with a double, walk, and two runs batted in. Lexi Chase was 3-4 with a homerun, three runs batted in, and two runs scored. Allie McCabe also had three hits in the ballgame. Eliya Johnson took the loss for the Lakers, allowing eight earned runs on nine hits, two walks, and one hit by pitch, while striking out two.
The Lakers will be back in action this weekend as they take on conference foe Southwestern Community College. The Lakers will play at 2:00 and 4:00 PM on Friday and 12:00 and 2:00 PM on Saturday.
Photo ID: Photo of Allie McCabe hitting attached.
MEDIA: For more information, please contact Head Softball Coach, Katie King at (712) 362-8367 or the Iowa Lakes sports information office at (712) 362-7928.