#20 Iowa Lakes Community College softball team traveled to Fort Dodge Thursday afternoon to take on the Tritons of Iowa Central. The Lakers put up 12 runs in game one to earn the 12-1, 6 inning, win, but fell just short in game two taking the 9-8 loss. The Lakers are now 29-14 overall with a 14-10 ICCAC record.
Game One: ILCC 12, ICC 1
Courtney Calkins picked up her 15th win of the season in game one. She allowed just one run on five hits, while striking out 2 Triton batters. Calkins was also 3-4 at the plate with a double and two runs batted in. Lauren Hein was 2-4 with a homerun, two runs batted in, and two runs scored.
The Lakers got on the scoreboard first with a one out single by Julia Sullwold. Hein then hit her first homerun of the day to put the Lakers up 2-0. Back to back singles by Leilani San Pedro and Deanna Gerrard, followed by a Shelby Davis walk, loaded the bases for Calkins. Calkins hit a ground ball to the shortstop, who made the play at third, allowing San Pedro to score.
Iowa Central put up one run in the bottom of the fourth on two hits. The Lakers loaded the bases in the fifth, but came up empty. They broke things open in the sixth inning, scoring nine runs. Hein hit a one out single to centerfield and then beat the fielder's choice out at second to put runners at first and second. Gerrard singled up the middle to score Hein and advance San Pedro to third. Davis executed the suicide squeeze to score San Pedro and put herself on first base. Calkins then doubled to center scoring Gerrard and advancing Davis to third. Both runners scored on a single off the bat of Blaney Markman. Montanna Popp walked and Kaitlin Walsh was hit by a pitch to load up the bases. An error by the Tritons on a ground ball from Sullwold scored Markman and Popp. San Pedro doubled to centerfield to score the final two runs of the game and put the Lakers up 12-1.
Game Two: ILCC 9, ICC 8
Game two was a battle between the Lakers and Tritons. The Lakers scored first when Sullwold led off the game with a double and then stole third base. San Pedro pushed the first run of the game across the plate with a ground ball to second base.
The Tritons scored seven runs in the bottom of the second on five hits, one walk, and one hit by pitch.
The Lakers chipped away at the lead in the top of the third. Sullwold hit a one out single and advanced on a throwing error by the pitcher. Hein reached on a single and advanced Sullwold to third. Sullwold scored on a Triton error which allowed Hein to advance to third. Gerrard singled to left field which scored Hein to make the score 7-3. Davis then walked to load the bases and bring up Calkins. Calkins hit a double to right field to score two runners.
The Lakers scored again in the fourth on another Hein homerun. Hein's homerun brought her to seventeen on the year and tied her for most homeruns in DII NJCAA this year.
Iowa Central scored two very important runs in the bottom of the sixth to put them up 9-6. The Lakers started off the seventh inning when Sullwold reached on a Triton error. Hein singled to right, which allowed Sullwold to advance to third. Hein advanced to second when San Pedro grounded out to third base. Gerrard walked to load up the bases. With two outs, Calkins singled to centerfield to score Sullwold and Hein. With the winning run just 60 feet away, the Tritons got the final Laker batter to pop out to the catcher.
Ashton Kazmierski (13-7) took the loss for the Lakers. She allowed nine runs, eight earned, on nine hits, three walks, and two strikeouts. Lauren Hein, Julia Sullwold, and Courtney Calkins were each 2-4 in the game. Hein and Sullwold each scored three times, while Calkins had four runs batted in.
The Lakers will return home to finish out their conference schedule this weekend. They will take on North Iowa Area Community College on Saturday at 1:00 and 3:00 PM and Ellsworth Community College on Sunday at 12:00 and 2:00 PM.