The Iowa Lakes Community College Softball team took two wins in day one of their trip to Columbus, NE. They outscored their opponents 31-9, taking a 12-3 win over Highland Community College and a 19-6 win over Central Community College – Columbus. This brings them to a 17-9 record on the season. 

GAME 1: 12 (ILCC), 3 (HCC) 6 innings

            The Lakers struck in the top of the first inning on a double from Marrissa Miller, who scored on a double from Korilynn Christians. Taylor Larson would come up to hit a two-out home run, extending the Lakers' lead to three runs. Highland would fight back in their half of the inning, scoring one on a single, walk, and two-out single. 

            The Lakers wanted more as Myla Murphy would lead off the second inning with a single. Abby Burgess would step up to the plate and rip a fly ball past the center field fence, taking the Lakers up to a four-run lead. Despite a single from Kaitlyn DuChateau to extend the hitting streak, the next three Lakers would go three up, three down. Macy Pickett shut down the bottom of the second inning, allowing no Scottie to reach base. 

            Larson came up a second time to lead off the top of the third with another home run to center field. Alexis Cullinane would reach first with a hit-by-pitch and advance to second on a walk from Murphy. Each would advance sixty feet from a Burgess single, and Cullinane would tag up on a sac fly from DuChateau, leaving the score 7-1. The Scotties would score one in the bottom of the third on a single, a Laker error, and a ground ball. 

            The next score of the game would come from Highland, who scored one run on a single and a double. The Lakers would come back hard in the top of the sixth, as Macy Pickett would have her first hit of the game, driving a line drive single to right. Larson would come up with her third home run of the game, driving in two more runs and extending the score to 10-3. Cullinane had her third hit of the game, and Brooklyn Bode would come up to hit the fifth Laker home run of the game. Macy Pickett shut down the bottom of the sixth, allowing no more to score. 

            Taylor Larson led the Lakers offensively, going 3-4 with three home runs and five RBIs. Alexis Cullinane went 3-3 in the game, while Burgess and Bode added two more RBIs and one home run each to the Laker stat line. Macy Pickett threw all 6.0 innings, allowing seven hits, three runs, and one walk while striking out 11. 

GAME 2: 19 (ILCC), 6 (CCC), 6 innings

             The top of the first saw a two-out single from Christians, but she would be left on base to finish the inning. The Raiders struck hard in the bottom of the first, leading off with a single. A fielder's choice would allow the next batter to reach as well, and they would make this mishap pay off, hitting a three-run home run. They would score one more on two singles and another fielder's choice. 

            The Lakers would fight back in the top of the second with Karlee Akers hitting a one-out leadoff single to left field. Bode came up big with her second home run of the day, scoring two and cutting the Raider's lead in half. Murphy took a walk, and DuChateau hit a two-out single to left that allowed Murphy to speed around to home. In the circle, Larson shut down a nerve-wracking half, allowing no runs to score with runners on first and third. 

            Larson would come up in the top of the third, driving her fourth home run of the day and twelfth of the season to tie the game at four. Despite singles from Akers and Murphy and a double from Bode, the Lakers scored no more in their half. Larson shut down the bottom of the third on defense for the Lakers, with the only baserunner reaching on a Laker error. 

            DuChateau led off the top of the fourth with a sing and advanced to second on a walk from Miller. Christians came up to rip a hard ground ball to the third baseman, reaching second on an error by the Raiders. With DuChateau and Miller scurrying across on Christians' hit, the Lakers took the lead. Cullinane would extend the Lakers' lead, ripping a line drive over the center field fence. Akers would take a hit-by-pitch, and Murphy would score her on a two-out line drive to center. Kassidy Elkins would come in to throw in the bottom of the fourth, allowing Central to score one run on two singles. 

            The Lakers continued to grow their lead, starting off the top of the fifth with a Miller bunt-for-a-hit. Miller would steal second, and a double from Christians allowed her to score. Larson reached first on a fly ball that allowed Christians to scamper across the plate, extending the Lakers' lead to six runs. Cullinane would reach first on her second hit-by-pitch of the day, and a single from Bode allowed Larson to trot home. Elkins shut down the Raiders in the bottom of the fifth, allowing no runs. 

            Murphy came up with a hit-by-pitch to lead off the top of the sixth, stealing second in the next at-bat. Burgess singled to left field, allowing Murphy to come across the plate. With the score sitting at 13-5, DuChateau came up with a huge home run to left, allowing two to come across. Christians came up with a one-out single, and Larson would also single to get Christians to third. Cullinane ripped a ball to right field, legging out a triple and scoring both Christians and Larson. Akers came up with a single to short that allowed Cullinane to scurry across the plate. Morgan Kolodzienski hit into a fielder's choice that all runners were safe on. Murphy had her second hit-by-pitch of the inning to load the bases, and a sac fly from Burgess allowed Akers to score from three. At the half of the inning, the Lakers led 19-5. In the bottom of the sixth, Elkins allowed a single and walk, with a wild pitch scoring the lone runner of the inning. She shut down the next two batters, keeping the Lakers lead to 13 runs. 

            Akers and Bode went 3-4 in the game, while Murphy went 2-2. Cullinane led the RBI side with four, while Christians and Bode each tallied three. The Lakers tallied another four home runs in the game, making that nine total on the day. Taylor Larson threw 3.0 innings, allowing six hits, four runs, and no walks while striking out three. Kassidy Elkins earned the win for the game, throwing 3.0 innings, allowing three hits, two runs, and one walk while striking out two. 

            The Lakers return to Columbus, NE, tomorrow to play Central at 11 am and Highland at 1 pm.