The Iowa Lakes Community College Softball team swept Ellsworth Community College in a doubleheader. The Lakers took game one 12-5, before blasting the Panthers 20-2 in five innings in game two. The Lakers are now 28-16 overall and 11-13 in conference play.
GAME 1: 12 (ILCC), 5 (ECC)
After a quiet start offensively, the Lakers found themselves trailing early as Ellsworth pushed across a run in the first inning and then broke the game open with a four-run fourth inning to take a 5-0 lead. Defensive miscues aided the Panthers' rally, as they capitalized on timely hits and errors to build their advantage.
The Lakers responded in the top of the fifth inning, beginning their comeback with aggressive baserunning and clutch hitting. Marrissa Miller led off the inning with a walk and advanced to third on a single from Kenzie Enter. Enter quickly stole second, before both runners scored on Charli Abernathy's single up the middle. Addison Wheeler drove a ball down the line to keep the rally going. With one out, Gracie Knobloch grounded out to second, advancing both runners sixty feet. The Lakers then took advantage of a Panthers error to score two, cutting the Panthers lead to one.
Iowa Lakes took full control of the game in a massive sixth inning, erupting for eight runs to turn a one-run deficit into a commanding 12-5 lead. Macy Pickett drew a walk to start the inning. Kassidy Elkins entered the game to run and quickly put herself into scoring position with a stolen base. Miller put pressure on the defense with a beautiful bunt and then a stolen base to put two runners in scoring position. Enter followed with a squeeze, scoring Elkins and tying the game at 5-5. Abernathy then delivered a triple, scoring two and giving the Lakers their first lead of the game. Christians kept the offense rolling with a single, before scoring on walks to Knobloch, Katie Kvigne, and Pickett. With two outs, singles from Miller and Enter scored three runs, giving the Lakers a 12-5 advantage.
The Panthers threatened in the bottom of the sixth when they had runners at first and second due to walks. With one out, Miller turned a double play going third to first to end any hope for Ellsworth.
Gracie Knobloch earned the win in relief. She threw 3.2 innings, allowing one earned run on two hits and three walks. Katie Kvigne threw the first 3.1 innings, allowing four runs, two earned, on six hits and one walk, while striking out four. Charli Abernathy led the Lakers offense, going 2-4 with four runs batted in. Marrissa Miller and Kenzie Enter each added two hits for the Lakers.
GAME 2: 20 (ILCC), 2 (ECC) 5 innings
After a scoreless first two innings, the Lakers' bats came alive in the third inning with a nine-run explosion. Abernathy got the hit brigade going with a leadoff single. She then swiped second and scored on a Wheeler single up the middle. Wheeler then advanced to third on a passed ball, before Christians and Knobloch walked to load up the bases. Karlee Akers singled, before Kvigne doubled to give the Lakers a 4-0 lead. With runners at second and third, Pickett singled to right, scoring Akers. Miller then walked to load the bases for the second time in the inning, before Enter delivered a single. With the bases still loaded, Abernathy hit a sacrifice fly to score Pickett and advance the runners. Christians drove home the final two runs of the inning on a single to center, making the score 9-0 in favor of the Lakers.
Ellsworth responded with two runs in the bottom half of the third, on three hits and one walk.
Iowa Lakes quickly answered in the fourth inning with another dominant offensive surge. The Lakers plated eight more runs, starting with singles from Akers and Kvigne. With Akers on third, Pickett hit a sacrifice fly to score a run and advance Kvigne to second. Singles by Miller, Enter, and Abernathy gave the Lakers a 12-2 lead. Wheeler was then hit by a pitch, loading up the bases for Christians, who singled up the middle to score two. Back-to-back singles by Knobloch and Akers gave the Lakers a 16-2 advantage. Kvigne then lined into a fielder's choice, scoring Akers for the final run of the inning.
The Lakers continued their offensive pressure in the fifth inning. Morgan Kolodzienksi led off the inning with a double off the left field fence. Taylor Bergman then used her speed to reach on an error, scoring Kolodzienski. Britney Hageman followed with a single, advancing Bergman to third. Kassidy Elkins scored Bergman on a fielder's choice to put the Lakers up 19-2. The final run of the game came when Leah Bode blasted a triple to right to score Elkins.
Macy Pickett earned the win, throwing four innings and allowing two earned runs on five hits and one walk. Morgan Fine threw one inning, allowing one hit. Offensively, the Lakers put up eighteen hits in the game. Eight Lakers had multi-hit games, including; Addison Wheeler, Korilynn Christians, Gracie Knobloch, Karlee Akers, Katie Kvigne, Marrissa Miller, Kenzie Enter, and Charli Abernathy. Korilynn Christians drove in four runs, while Katie Kvigne drove in three.
The Lakers will return home on Wednesday, April 15th, at 2:00 and 4:00 PM to take on Northeast Community College.
Photo ID: Picture of Marrissa Miller 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.