RedTail Softball Sweeps Hawks
The Hawkeye RedTail Softball Team hosted the Northeast Hawks in a conference doubleheader on April 20th. The RedTails snagged two wins on the day, winning game one 12-9 and winning game two 12-1 in five innings.
Game 1: 12 (HCC), 9 (NCC)
The Hawks took a quick 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning, scoring on a walk, RedTail error, fielder's choice, and two hits. Northeast added one more run in the top of the third inning from a homerun to put them in the lead 4-0.
Hawkeye got on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning. Lizzy Hamand started the inning with a double, and Dharma Woodruff hit a single to score her. Chardonnay Hubert then advanced Woodruff to third. Courtney Hemsley put the ball in play and reached first, giving the RedTails runners at first and third. Sidney Schafer grounded out to score Woodruff.
Down 4-2, the RedTails continued to score in the bottom of the fifth. Kisha Reed started the inning off with an in the park homerun. Caydance Sharp then hit an out of the park homerun to follow. Hamand hit her second double of the day, and Woodruff was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second. Hubert then singled to score Hamand, and Hemsley singled to score Woodruff. Allison Beenken then doubled to score two more RedTails, giving Hawkeye an 8-4 lead.
Northeast went ahead in the top of the sixth, scoring on a homerun, four singles, and two RedTail errors. This gave the Hawks a 9-8 advantage.
Not to be outdone, Hawkeye put up a fight in the bottom of the seventh inning. Down just one run, there was a spark from Schafer who walked to start the inning. Beenken was then hit by a pitch, and Savannah Ringheden forced a Hawk error to load the bases. Sharp stepped up and hit a grand slam to give the RedTails an exciting 12-9 win.
Sharp led at the plate going 2-5 with five runs batted in and two runs scored. Hamand was 3-4 with two runs scored. Six RedTails had a multi-hit game. Schafer earned the win on the mound, going the full seven innings, giving up nine hits, three earned runs, one walk, and five strikeouts.
Game 2: 12 (HCC), 1 (NCC)
Northeast scored their only run of the game in the top of the first, scoring from a single, stolen base, fielder's choice, and a passed ball.
Hawkeye put up three runs in the bottom of the second. Reed hit a single and quickly stole second and advanced to third after tagging up from a fly ball to the outfield from Sharp. She then scored from the bat of Hamand. Woodruff then was hit by a pitch and scored from a Hubert homerun, giving the RedTails a 3-1 lead.
The RedTails added one more run in the third, scoring Hamand singled and advanced to third from a Woodruff double. Hubert then hit a ground ball to the right side to score Hamand.
Ringheden added a homerun in the bottom of the fourth to put Hawkeye up 6-1. Sharp put a hard ground ball in play to reach first, stole second, and scored on a Hamand single. Woodruff followed with her own single. Hubert forced a Hawk error to load the bases. Hemsley stepped up and hit the second grand slam of the day to give the RedTails a 11-1. Not to be outdone, Beenken hit a homerun herself for a 12-1 lead in favor of the RedTails.
A one, two, three fifth inning secured the 12-1 win. Hamand led at the plate for game two, going 2-3 with two runs scored and two runs batted in. Woodruff was a perfect 2-2 at the plate with two runs scored. Ringheden and Beenken each had two hits. Hemsley picked up her first collegiate win on the mound, going five innings, giving up three hits, one earned run, and two strikeouts.
The RedTails move to 7-29 on the year and 3-17 in conference. Hawkeye hosts their final home games of the year on Sunday, April 21st against Iowa Lakes Community College. Game time is set for 12:00 and 2:00 PM.
