The Iowa Lakes Community College Softball team split day six of their Florida excursion They took a win against Illinois Valley Community College 10-5 and lost a hard-fought battle to Triton College 6-5. The Lakers advance to 13-7 on the season.
GAME 1: 10 (ILCC), 5 (IVCC)
The Lakers struck first in the bottom of the first base when Macy Pickett reached first on a two-out error from the Eagles. Korilynn Christians had a hard-hit single, advancing Pickett to second. Taylor Larson would come up to hit a three-run shot over the center field fence, allowing the Lakers to take a 3-0 lead. The Eagles would not take this likely as they scored two in the top of the second. A single, Laker error, and two-out double would shorten the Laker's lead to only one run.
The Lakers had a quick bottom half of the third inning, going three up and three down. Illinois Valley took advantage of the momentum and fought back with a lead-off double. A groundout would allow the runner to advance to third and a sacrifice fly would score the runner on third, forcing a tie game.
The fourth inning would see an effort from Illinois Valley as they would lead off with a single, advance to second on a bunt, and reach third on a Laker error. Bailey Smith would knock out the runner at third with a hard check and quick tag out. On the other side of the plate, Smith would chalk up her seventeenth hit-by-pitch of the season. Karlee Akers would come up with a one-out line drive single to center, but the Lakers would strand the two on base from there.
The next score would not come until the bottom of the fifth when the Lakers broke open the gates and four runs scored. Kaitlyn DuChateau would lead off the inning with a walk, and a Marrissa Miller double would score her. With Miller on second, Pickett would come up with another double to score Miller. With one out, Larson would return to the plate and hit a screaming line drive to right field, earning herself a triple and another RBI. An infield single from Smith would score Larson, making her the last run of the inning for the Lakers. In the top of the sixth, the Eagles would score first on an error, walk, sacrifice bunt, and groundout. Their second of the inning would be scored on a two-out Laker error, leaving the score 5-7 with the Lakers still on top.
On the Lakers' side of the sixth, DuChateau's return to the plate would see a one-out solo home run, extending the Lakers lead to three. In the next at-bat, Miller would race to beat out a bunt. With two outs and a runner at first, Christians would come up to hit a rocket line drive over the center field fence. This would be the final score of the game, as Kassidy Elkins would allow none in the top of the seventh for the Eagles.
Marrissa Miller led the Laker offense, going 3-4 with two runs and an RBI. Taylor Larson, Korilynn Christians, and Macy Pickett would all go 2-4, tallying two runs each. Larson would add four RBIs to the game, while Christians added two.
GAME 2: 20 (LLCC), 0 (ECC) 5 innings
Macy Pickett would start off strong in the circle for the Lakers, striking out the leadoff hitter in the bottom of the first. The next two Trojans would single and a Laker error would allow an extra 60 feet for each runner. A groundout would allow one to score, but no more would come across for Triton in the first.
The top of the second would see a solo shot from Christians to tie the game back up at one. Larson would single as the next batter and Smith would see her eighteenth hit-by-pitch. The two would be left stranded, as the next three Lakers would strike out. The defense would carry each of the teams through the second, third, and fourth innings as the game remain tied at one until the top of the fifth.
Abby Burgess would start the Lakers with a one-out single, and DuChateau would come up to hit her second home run of the day. With the Lakers taking the lead 3-1, the next two up would be mowed down by Triton's defense and pitching. The bottom of the fifth would see a strong fight from the Trojans, as they would tie the game back up and take the lead back by two. They would score their four runs of the inning on three singles, a Laker error, and a sacrifice fly.
The Lakers would look to fight back hard with a leadoff single from Christians in the top of the sixth, who would advance to second on an error by the Trojans. Larson would continue the fight with a bunt for a hit to advance Christians to third. Karlee Akers would come in to pinch hit for the Lakers, hitting a sacrifice fly to left field to score Christians and bring the Lakers within one. The bottom of the sixth would see a leadoff single for Triton, who advanced to second on a sac bunt. A single from the Trojans would extend their lead to two going into the seventh inning.
The first two batters for the Lakers in the top of the seventh would be unable to reach first, but that didn't stop Marrissa Miller from hitting a two-out solo home run with a line drive to center. The Lakers would be unable to finish their fight as they took the loss with a final of 6-5.
Larson and Christians would lead the fight for the Lakers, going 2-3. Burgess and Miller would add hits of their own while DuChateau, Miller, and Christians would add three home runs to the Lakers' growing stat. Macy Pickett would take the loss for the game, throwing 4.2 innings, allowing six hits, five runs, zero earned runs, and two walks while striking out five. Larson would finish the game, throwing 1.1 innings, allowing three hits, one run, and one earned run.