The Iowa Lakes Community College Softball team earned two wins over conference foe, Northeast Community College. The Lakers dominated in game one, winning 12-2 in five innings, before winning game two 4-1. The Lakers are now 30-16 overall and 13-13 in conference.
GAME 1: 12 (ILCC), 2 (NCC) 5 innings
The Iowa Lakes Community College softball team used a powerful offensive attack to defeat Northeast Community College, 12-2, in a strong conference showing.
The Lakers wasted no time getting on the board in the first inning. Addison Wheeler led off the game win a single, before scoring on a Korilynn Christians' homerun. Gracie Knobloch kept the inning going with a single. She then stole second and scored when Macy Pickett singled to center.
Iowa Lakes continued to build its lead in the second inning, capitalizing on patience at the plate and timely hitting. With two out, Wheeler was hit by a pitch and then Christians walked. Knobloch was also hit by a pitch to load the bases up for Karlee Akers, who delivered a single to extend the Lakers lead to 5-0.
The offense stayed hot in the third inning, where Iowa Lakes added three more runs. Pickett led off the inning by launching a solo homerun to center. Marrissa Miller singled and then advanced to second on Kenzie Enter's sacrifice bunt. Wheeler then brought Miller around to score with a double off the fence. Wheeler quickly scampered home on a double from Christians to make the score 8-0 in favor of the Lakers.
Northeast responded in the fourth inning with a two-run home run, cutting the deficit to 8-2. However, the Lakers quickly answered in the bottom half of the inning with four more runs to put the game out of reach. Katie Kvigne walked and then stole second. Pickett then doubled to score Kvigne, before Miller drew a walk. Enter then advanced both runners on her second sacrifice bunt of the game. This allowed Miller to score when Charli Abernathy grounded out to short. Wheeler then hit the Lakers third homerun of the game, completing the 12-2 victory.
Addison Wheeler was 3-3 with four runs scored and three runs batted in. Macy Pickett was also 3-3 with two runs scored and three runs batted in. Korilynn Christians added two hits and three runs batted in. Katie Kvigne earned the win in the circle, throwing all five innings. She allowed two earned runs on five hits and one walk, while striking out three.
GAME 2: 4 (ILCC), 1 (NCC)
The Iowa Lakes Community College softball team used timely hitting and solid defense to secure a 4-1 victory over Northeast Community College in a tightly contested matchup.
The Lakers got on the board early in the bottom of the first inning. Wheeler sparked the offense with a double and then advanced to third on Christians' single. Knobloch then brought in the first run of the game with a single. Iowa Lakes added another run later in the inning on an RBI single from Kvigne to take a 2-0 lead.
Both teams settled in defensively over the next few innings, with strong pitching and clean fielding limiting scoring opportunities. In the fourth inning, Knobloch and Wheeler turned a double play to end the Hawks scoring threat.
Iowa Lakes extended its lead in the fifth inning with a two-out rally. Abernathy led off the inning with a single. She then put herself in scoring position with a stolen base. This proved to be valuable, as Christians singled up the middle to score Abernathy. On the play at home, Christians advanced to second and then scored on Knobloch's single to give the Lakers a 4-0 lead.
Northeast broke through in the sixth inning with a solo home run, cutting the deficit to 4-1. However, the Lakers responded with strong defense to halt any further momentum.
In the seventh inning, Northeast threatened by getting their leadoff runner on base. Pickett got the next batter to hit a ground ball to herself, starting the double play with Wheeler and Knobloch. The final out of the game came on a groundout to Akers.
Macy Pickett earned the win for the Lakers, throwing a complete game. She allowed one earned run on eight hits and one walk, while striking out three. At the plate, Gracie Knobloch was 2-3 with two runs batted in. Korilynn Christians add two hits and an RBI as well.
The Lakers will travel to Boone, Iowa on Saturday, April 18th to take on Des Moines Area Community College. Games times are 1:00 and 3:00 PM.
Photo ID: Picture of Macy Pickett 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.