The Iowa Lakes Softball team entered today with a 1-1 record in the ICCAC Conference Tournament. The Lakers started the day by beating Northeast Community College 11-2 in six innings, before suffering a season ending loss to #3 DMACC 4-3 in ten innings.
Game One: ILCC 11, NCC 2 (6 innings)
Kailey Maksim got the game started with a one out single in the first inning. Eliya Johnson then followed with a double to advance Maksim to third. A sacrifice fly from Kaitlin Roundy pushed the first Laker run across the plate.
The Hawks scored their only two runs of the game in the second inning. They did this on a walk, a single, and a double. Iowa Lakes quickly responded by putting up four runs in the bottom half of the inning. Allie McCabe led off with a single and advanced to second on a Mackenna Otte ground out. Amanda Franke hit a two out single to score McCabe and then she advanced to second on the throw home. A Lexi Chase double and Maksim homerun gave the Lakers a 5-2 lead.
Chase and the Lakers put Northeast down in order in the third on a strikeout, groundout to Maksim, and groundout to Johnson. This allowed the Laker offense to pick up right where they left off. Roundy doubled and advanced to third on a groundout from Kamryn Buntrock. McCabe hit her second single of the day to score Roundy. A Hawk error on a ball from Otte put runners at first and second with one out. Kiley Hill followed with a ground ball to shortstop that Northeast failed to get McCabe out advancing to third. The Hawks then overthrew the ball to allow McCabe to score and the trail runners to advance to second and third. A Chase single and some havoc on the bases allowed the Lakers to put up two more runs and take the 9-2 lead.
The Lakers ended the game early by putting up two runs in the bottom of the sixth. Franke led off the inning with a walk and then scored on Maksim's second homerun of the game.
Kailey Maksim led the balanced attack at the plate for the Lakers. Maksim was 3-4 with four runs batted in, three runs scored, and two homeruns. Allie McCabe, Kaitlin Roundy, and Lexi Chase each had two hits in the game. Lexi Chase picked up the win for the Lakers, allowing two earned runs in six innings on two hits. She walked two batters and struck out four.
Game Two: DMACC 4, ILCC 3 (10 innings)
With the win over Northeast, the Lakers advanced to the regional championship game where they took on #3 Des Moines Area Community College. The Lakers put up a fight but ultimately suffered a 4-3 loss in the bottom of the tenth inning on a walk-off homerun.
The Lakers took the early lead in the first inning, scoring one run. Johnson hit a two out double to left center, that was followed by a Roundy double down the line.
DMACC threatened the Laker lead in the bottom of the second with back-to-back walks. A sacrifice bunt allowed both runners to advance. Johnson stepped up and struck out the next Bear hitter before forcing a groundout to end the inning.
Chase led the offensive attack in the third on a leadoff single. Maksim then stepped up and hit her third homerun of the day to put the Lakers up 3-0. The Bears led off their half of the inning with a walk. McCabe then threw out a runner attempting to steal second and Johnson fielded and threw out a batter to get two quick outs in the inning. Unfortunately, DMACC's offense rallied on two, scoring two runs on two doubles and a single. The Lakers got out of the inning on a groundout to Otte.
With the Bears down one run, they threatened again in the fourth. Two quick singles from DMACC forced Iowa Lakes to make a pitching change. With Chase now on the mound, the first out of the inning came on a strikeout. A walk loaded up the bases and brought up the Bear's middle of the lineup. A lineout to Maksim and fly out to Franke ended the inning.
The Lakers loaded the bases up themselves in the fifth when Chase hit a one out double and Maksim reached on an unsuccessful fielder's choice. Johnson then pushed a ball through the infield to bring up Roundy. A fly ball to right field was caught and then Chase was thrown out at home trying to tag up to end the inning.
With the Lakers up 3-2, the Bears were down to their final three outs of the game. A leadoff solo homerun tied the ballgame up. The next DMACC batter singled and then advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Another great defensive play from the Lakers ended the inning, when Franke caught a ball in left center and then threw out the Bear batter attempting to tag up to third.
Going into extra innings, the Lakers led off the eighth with two walks. Roundy then laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance both runners. Two strikeouts from the Lakers ended the threat. The Bears went down in four batters in the bottom half of the inning.
With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, a Bear batter was hit by a pitch. A bloop fly ball to right field was picked up by Maksim and thrown home to McCabe to get the DMACC runner out trying to score and force a tenth inning.
Maksim put herself in scoring position in the top of the inning with a double, but the Lakers failed to find a way to score her. DMACC ended the game on a solo homerun in the bottom of the tenth.
Kailey Maksim again led the Lakers at the plate. She was 3-4 with two runs batted in, one run scored, and a two-run homerun. Eliya Johnson was 2-4 with one run scored, while Lexi Chase added two hits in the game as well. Lexi Chase took the loss for the Lakers. She pitched the final six innings of the game. She allowed two earned runs on seven hits, one walk, and one hit by pitch. She also struck out four DMACC batters. Eliya Johnson pitched the first three innings of the game, where she allowed two earned runs on five hits and four walks while striking out two batters.
The Lakers finished the year with a 24-22 overall record and a 22-18 conference record. The Lakers will be graduating five players and returning seven for the 2021-2022 season.
Photo ID: Photo of Eliya Johnson fielding 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.