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OTTUMWA — It may not be the last time that Iowa Western will pay a visit to Romalynn 'R.L.' Hellyer Field this season.
The Reivers can only hope that their next trip to the home diamond of the Indian Hills softball team goes as well as their most recent trip.
Kacy Miller set the tone for a successful road trip for Iowa Western on Sunday by reaching base three times in the first of two games between the top two teams in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference standings, scoring the first run of the day in the very first inning after being hit by a pitch to lead off game one against the Warriors. Miller would not only reach base three more times in game two, but would deliver the biggest blow of the game driving a two-out pitch over the fence in left field for a three-run home run that snapped a scoreless tie ultimately lifting Iowa Western to 5-0 and 4-3 wins, snapping a 15-game winning streak for IHCC in the process.
"I just know my job is to get on base however that is," Miller said. "That's what I did. That's what my mindset was."
Indian Hills bounced back quickly on Thursday, pounding out a pair of wins at North Central Missouri. Ava Smith drove in five runs, including three with a tiebreaking home run in the third inning of game one as the Warriors put away an 8-1 win over the Pirates before a two-run double to left by Cassandra Benberg in the fourth inning helped IHCC clinch the sweep with a 5-1 win in the nightcap.
"I have full confidence that we would come back," Smith said. "Softball is a game of failures sometimes. I loved the winning streak, but it is important for us to know that there are still things we need to work on. We're not this invincible thing as much as we'd like to think that. It's still a game where we're still learning every day."
Indian Hills extended its winning streak last Saturday with a pair of regional wins over Southwestern, rallying from a four-run deficit in the opening game on Sophomore Day to earn a wild 10-5 victory before Alivia Ruble and Courtney DenRuyter combined on a one-hit shutout in game two as the Warriors clinched an 8-0 win over the Spartans. Peyton Raley delivered the biggest hit of Sophomore Day with a bases-clearing triple that put the Warriors on top for good in the opening game before being honored along with Smith, Ruble, Jordyn Beck, Yarah Zuiver, Ashlynn Sheets, Courtney Locke and Shanna Buford after the sweep.
"We've all been talking about the fact that we're down to just three more times we'll get to play at home this season," Smith said. "With the postseason coming up, you never truly know when that last home game we'll be. I think we've all talked about taking in the moments as much as we can. Once it's gone, it's gone."
Buford added her second home run of the season against Southwestern to help clinch the opening game against the Spartans before starting a late bid by the Warriors to salvage the second game on Sunday against Iowa Western. The former Central Lee standout doubled off the fence in left to open the sixth inning with Indian Hills trailing 4-0 and came home on a two-run homer by Smith that cut the deficit down to 4-2 heading into the final inning.
"I think that was really big that we started coming alive at the plate," Buford said. "I think we also would have liked to start coming back sooner than that and stay a little more consistent throughout the innings. It's a really great culture here. I've got great teammates. It makes we want to stay here another year if that was an option."
Locke, who helped key Indian Hills during her sophomore campaign with several big hits during their 15-game winning streak, delivered another big blow in the final inning against Iowa Western on Sunday. Needing to reach just to get the tying run to the plate, Locke came all the way around after hitting her fourth home run of the season instantly cutting the Reiver lead all the way down to 4-3.
"It was pretty emotional on Sophomore Day. This team is really special and being a part of this program has been very special," Locke said. "It was very important to play like we did late against Iowa Western. It's a good reminder that, even if we're down, we can find a way to come back."
Emma Scully followed up Locke's lead-off home run with a base hit to bring the potential game-winning run to the plate. Cadedence Risius responded by retiring the next three IHCC batters, ultimately forcing a game-ending groundout by Buford clinching Iowa Western's second win of the day pulling the Reivers within two games of Indian Hills in the regional standings.
"It stinks to drop two games to Iowa Western, but we'd rather have it happen now than in the postseason," Smith said. "I know we'll get them back. That might sound a little too confident, but they (Iowa Western) know how good we are just as much as we know how good they are."
Indian Hills (26-14, 10-2 ICCAC) heads to Marshalltown for a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 1 p.m. The Warriors wrap up regular season regional play hosting Southeastern in a doubleheader on Wednesday needing three wins in the four regional games to clinch the regular-season ICCAC title and home field advantage in regional tournament play.
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The Reivers can only hope that their next trip to the home diamond of the Indian Hills softball team goes as well as their most recent trip.
Kacy Miller set the tone for a successful road trip for Iowa Western on Sunday by reaching base three times in the first of two games between the top two teams in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference standings, scoring the first run of the day in the very first inning after being hit by a pitch to lead off game one against the Warriors. Miller would not only reach base three more times in game two, but would deliver the biggest blow of the game driving a two-out pitch over the fence in left field for a three-run home run that snapped a scoreless tie ultimately lifting Iowa Western to 5-0 and 4-3 wins, snapping a 15-game winning streak for IHCC in the process.
"I just know my job is to get on base however that is," Miller said. "That's what I did. That's what my mindset was."
Indian Hills bounced back quickly on Thursday, pounding out a pair of wins at North Central Missouri. Ava Smith drove in five runs, including three with a tiebreaking home run in the third inning of game one as the Warriors put away an 8-1 win over the Pirates before a two-run double to left by Cassandra Benberg in the fourth inning helped IHCC clinch the sweep with a 5-1 win in the nightcap.
"I have full confidence that we would come back," Smith said. "Softball is a game of failures sometimes. I loved the winning streak, but it is important for us to know that there are still things we need to work on. We're not this invincible thing as much as we'd like to think that. It's still a game where we're still learning every day."
Indian Hills extended its winning streak last Saturday with a pair of regional wins over Southwestern, rallying from a four-run deficit in the opening game on Sophomore Day to earn a wild 10-5 victory before Alivia Ruble and Courtney DenRuyter combined on a one-hit shutout in game two as the Warriors clinched an 8-0 win over the Spartans. Peyton Raley delivered the biggest hit of Sophomore Day with a bases-clearing triple that put the Warriors on top for good in the opening game before being honored along with Smith, Ruble, Jordyn Beck, Yarah Zuiver, Ashlynn Sheets, Courtney Locke and Shanna Buford after the sweep.
"We've all been talking about the fact that we're down to just three more times we'll get to play at home this season," Smith said. "With the postseason coming up, you never truly know when that last home game we'll be. I think we've all talked about taking in the moments as much as we can. Once it's gone, it's gone."
Buford added her second home run of the season against Southwestern to help clinch the opening game against the Spartans before starting a late bid by the Warriors to salvage the second game on Sunday against Iowa Western. The former Central Lee standout doubled off the fence in left to open the sixth inning with Indian Hills trailing 4-0 and came home on a two-run homer by Smith that cut the deficit down to 4-2 heading into the final inning.
"I think that was really big that we started coming alive at the plate," Buford said. "I think we also would have liked to start coming back sooner than that and stay a little more consistent throughout the innings. It's a really great culture here. I've got great teammates. It makes we want to stay here another year if that was an option."
Locke, who helped key Indian Hills during her sophomore campaign with several big hits during their 15-game winning streak, delivered another big blow in the final inning against Iowa Western on Sunday. Needing to reach just to get the tying run to the plate, Locke came all the way around after hitting her fourth home run of the season instantly cutting the Reiver lead all the way down to 4-3.
"It was pretty emotional on Sophomore Day. This team is really special and being a part of this program has been very special," Locke said. "It was very important to play like we did late against Iowa Western. It's a good reminder that, even if we're down, we can find a way to come back."
Emma Scully followed up Locke's lead-off home run with a base hit to bring the potential game-winning run to the plate. Cadedence Risius responded by retiring the next three IHCC batters, ultimately forcing a game-ending groundout by Buford clinching Iowa Western's second win of the day pulling the Reivers within two games of Indian Hills in the regional standings.
"It stinks to drop two games to Iowa Western, but we'd rather have it happen now than in the postseason," Smith said. "I know we'll get them back. That might sound a little too confident, but they (Iowa Western) know how good we are just as much as we know how good they are."
Indian Hills (26-14, 10-2 ICCAC) heads to Marshalltown for a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 1 p.m. The Warriors wrap up regular season regional play hosting Southeastern in a doubleheader on Wednesday needing three wins in the four regional games to clinch the regular-season ICCAC title and home field advantage in regional tournament play.
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