Monday, September 27, 2010

Warriors Chosen to Play in Leadoff Classic in Florida

Ottumwa -- The Indian Hills Community College softball team has been chosen to play in the prestigious National Fastpitch Coaches Association Leadoff Classic in Florida next March. The field for the tourney will include 16 NJCAA Division I teams and eight NJCAA Division II teams, 14 of which participated in their respective division’s national tournament in 2010.

Indian Hills qualified for the NJCAA Division I national tourney last May, the 16th time the school played in the national tournament. Each participant in the Leadoff Classic was selected on the basis of its cumulative achievements over the past three seasons.

The tournament will be played March 4-6 in Panama City Beach, Florida. The classic will be divided into pool play and bracket play with each team guaranteed a minimum of five games.

Each team will begin the tournament by playing the other three schools in their pool. Once pool play is completed, the teams will be divided into three brackets of eight teams each. The six pool winners and top two second-place teams will form the Gold Championship Bracket, with the remaining four second-place teams and four at-large teams making up the Silver Championship Bracket. The final eight teams will be assigned to the Bronze Championship Bracket.

The Warriors, who were 33-24 and Region 11 and District K champions last year, will make the classic a part of their season-opening spring trip in 2011.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Two Future Warriors on All-Tourney Team

Two members of IHCC Coach Jim Overturf's incoming recruiting class were named to the All-Tournament team at the state softball tournament in Fort Dodge after leading their respective teams to final-four appearances.

Lindsey Evans from Ottumwa High School was a member of the 11-player Class 4A All-Tournament team after batting .400 in the Bulldogs' three games at state. Evans, a catcher, had a pair of doubles for the Bulldogs, who finished fourth in Class 4A.

Keokuk pitcher Hannah Washburn was named to the Class 3-A All-Tournament team. Washburn pitched Keokuk to wins in their first two state tourney games before losing to Carlisle in the 3-A title game. She threw a two-hit shutout in the quarterfinal game aganst Sioux City Bishop Heelan and then defeated Clear Creek-Amana in the semifinals. Washburn had 20 strikeouts in 21 innings pitched in the tourney.

Washburn was also named to the 3-A All-Tournament team as a junior.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Warriors Claim All-Region Honors

Ottumwa -- Indian Hills Community College has three players on the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference All-Region softball team. And IHCC coach Jim Overturf was named the Region XI Coach of the Year.

Sophomore first baseman Lizzy Tucker was the lone Indian Hills player named to the All-Region first team. Tucker led the Warriors in hits, RBIs, total bases, walks and on-base percentage while tying for the team lead in doubles, homers and sacrifice bunts.

Selected for the All-Region second team were outfielders Kris Penick, a sophomore, and freshman Tory Beaver. Penick led IHCC in hitting with a .336 batting average and in stolen bases with nine. Beaver ended the season with a .306 average, 27 runs scored and 29 RBIs.

It was the second straight All-Region selection for Penick who was also named to the second team last year.

Overturf led the Warriors to their first national tournament appearance in five years in his third season at IHCC. Indian Hills entered the postseason as the No. 4 seed in the region tournament and promptly won all three games they played in the tourney to seize the title.

The Warriors then won both games from Crowder College, the Missouri champ, in the district tournament to qualify for nationals. Indian Hills ended the year with a 33-24 record. Their two losses in the national tourney were against Yavapai College and Wallace State CC, teams that finished third and second in the nation, respectively.

Overturf picked up his 600th win as a head softball coach during the 2010 season and has 617 wins in a coaching career that also includes stints at William Penn and Kirkwood.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Warriors Drop Two at National Tourney

St. George, Utah -- The Indian Hills softball team got to see first-hand the strength of the teams that would go on to finish second and third at the NJCAA Division I National Championships. On the first day of the double-elimination tourney, the Warriors lost to Yavapai (AZ) College, 8-0, and Wallace State (AL) CC, 9-0.

Wallace State overcame a loss in their first game -- right before they defeated Indian Hills -- to make it all the way to the title game, where they were defeated by national champion Miami Dade. Yavapai wound up in third place.

Indian Hills' losses also came against the last two national champs before this year (Wallace State in 2008 and Yavapai last year) and against two pitchers who were both named to the all-tournament team in the '09 tourney.

Yavapai's Audrey Workman shut out IHCC for five innings in the opener and Wallace State's Kelsey Dennis blanked the Warriors for four innings.

It was a day in which the Warriors just couldn't generate any offense. They had only four hits in the first game, singles by Tory Beaver, Ryan Jehle, Kelly Ruepke and Lizzy Tucker.

Yavapai started the scoring with two-out solo homers by Danielle Muniz and Molly Brossart in the 1st inning. They added a run against IHCC starter Brandi Haight in the 4th. Sonja Holmes replaced Haight in the 5th and both runs scored in that inning were charged to Haight.

Holmes allowed three more runs in the 6th.

Indian Hills' only real scoring chance came in the 5th inning when, trailing 3-0, they loaded the bases with nobody out on two hits and an error. But Workman, the Yavapai pitcher, struck out three straight batters to get out of the jam. She had 11 Ks in five innings.

Wallace State pounded three home runs among their 11 hits in Indian Hills' second game in ending IHCC's season. Warriors' starter Kylee Coughlin gave up eight hits and seven runs in 2 1/3 innings and took the loss. Holmes allowed the other two runs.

The Warriors' lone hits were leadoff singles by Brittany Petersen in the 4th and Sarah Wilcox in the 5th.

Indian Hills finished the season with a 33-24 record. The national tournament appearance was their first in five years.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Indian Hills Will Battle Yavapai in National Tourney

Ottumwa -- Indian Hills Community College will take on defending national champion Yavapai College from Arizona in the first round of the NJCAA Division I National Softball Championship this week in St. George, Utah.

The pairings for the 16-team event at the Canyons Softball Complex were released Sunday.

Indian Hills (33-22) was given the number-12 seed and will take on No. 5-seed Yavapai (50-14) at 11:00 a.m. Iowa time on Thursday. The winner will play the winner of the first-round game between Wallace State CC (AL) and John A. Logan CC (IL) at 8:00 p.m. The loser of the IHCC-Yavapai matchup will play the loser of that game at 5:30 p.m.

Wallace State won the national title in 2008 and lost to Yavapai in the championship game last year.

Seven of the 16 teams that qualified for last year’s national tourney return to the field this year. The top seed is Salt Lake CC (UT) which has a 59-3 record. They are also in Indian Hills’ bracket and will play Pitt CC (NC) in the opening round.
The other two teams in IHCC’s half of the draw are Seward County CC (KS) and Seminole State CC (OK).

The double-elimination national tournament runs through Saturday.

Indian Hills is making its first appearance in the national softball tourney since 2005.

All of the Indian Hills' games in the national tournament can be heard live on KMGO Radio (98.7 FM) and on the internet at www.kmgo.com.

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Two More Wins Put Warriors in National Tourney

Neosho, MO -- The Indian Hills Warriors' run through the postseason continued with back-to-back wins in the District K Tournament against Crowder College on Friday. The Warriors took the best-of-three series with 6-3 and 7-3 wins against Crowder in a battle between two region champions.


The district tourney win puts the Warriors in the NJCAA Division I National Tournament May 20-22 in St. George, Utah. It will be the first trip to the national tournament for IHCC since 2005.

Indian Hills got outstanding pitching performances in their three consecutive wins in the Region 11 tournament and that pattern continued against Crowder. Brandi Haight and Kylee Coughlin had strong outings and the IHCC offense backed them with 13 runs and 21 hits in the two games.

IHCC set the tone for the day in the top of the 1st inning of the first game of the tourney. Kris Penick led off with a walk. A single by Kelly Ruepke and a hit batter loaded the bases. Sarah Wilcox delivered a two-run single to give the Warriors the early lead. Wilcox had four hits in the game. Tory Beaver, who was hit by a pitch to set up the Wilcox two-RBI hit, was hit four times in the two games.

The IHCC lead doubled in the 4th when Jordan Grell singled home Wilcox and came all the way around to score on the play when Crowder committed two errors, one in the outfield and the second when they tried to get Grell at 3rd base.

Crowder scored two runs to cut the lead in half in the bottom of the 5th, but missed a chance to make it a big inning when they left the bases loaded.

The Warriors picked up two big insurance runs in the 7th. Lizzy Tucker's squeeze bunt brought home McKenzie Cason and Wilcox picked up her third RBI when she singled to drive in Ruepke.

Crowder scored a run in the 7th, but again left the bases loaded. They stranded eight baserunners in the final three innings.

Haight got her 14th pitching win of the season, allowing six hits and two earned runs with one walk and four strikeouts. Haight's final strikeout came on a called third strike to end the game. She retired 10 hitters in a row in one stretch.

Indian Hills again scored first in the second game, this time as the home team on the scoreboard.

Lizzy Tucker's two-run double off the center field fence chased home Cason and Ruepke, who had led off the 3rd inning with singles. After two outs, number-nine hitter Morgan Powers came up with a huge hit for Indian Hills, a two-out, two-strike single to center that scored two runs and made it 4-0.

Powers had two hits on the day giving her seven in five postseason games.

Crowder scored once against Coughlin in the 5th and picked up a couple more runs in the 7th, but saw their season end when the IHCC freshman pitcher got a ground ball to third base to end the contest.

Indian Hills added to their lead with single runs in their final three at-bats after their four-run 3rd.

Tucker drove in a run with a groundout in the 4th; Sydney Hallbauer's single brought home Ryan Jehle in the 5th; and Jehle had an RBI-single to score Tucker in the 6th.
Ruepke, Tucker and Jehle each had two hits in the second game for IHCC. Ruepke also had two hits in the opener and Grell also had two in game one to go along with Wilcox's four-hit game.

In game two, Coughlin gave up 11 hits, but only three runs. She walked only one batter.

For the second straight game, Crowder, the Region 16 champions, had lots of opportunities, but couldn't come up with the big hit. They left nine runners on in the second game to match their LOB total in the opener.

Indian Hills will take a 33-22 record into the national tourney. The pairings for the 16-team affair will be released at the start of next week.

Monday, May 3, 2010

Clean Sweep; Warriors Take Region 11 Title

West Burlington, IA -- The Indian Hills softball team won three games against conference foes in the 2010 regular season. In the span of two days this weekend, the Warriors won that same number of games to win the Region 11 postseason tournament and advance to this week's district tournament.

Indian Hills, which entered the four-team region tourney as the number-four seed, completed their run through the tournament on Sunday with a 4-3 win against Muscatine CC to claim the championship.

Kylee Coughlin came out of the IHCC bullpen to save the game for starter Brandi Haight, who had given the Warriors 6 1/3 solid innings in her second win in as many days.

Of the two batters she faced, Coughlin got a groundout to second base and a popup to second baseman Kelly Ruepke to nail down the clinching victory. Coughlin did throw a wild pitch which allowed Muscatine to make it a one-run game, but she got the final out to preserve Haight's 13th win of the year.

Indian Hills snapped a 1-all tie with a three-run 6th inning. The go-ahead run scored on an error and Sarah Wilcox supplied some much-needed insurance with a two-run triple to center field.

Tory Beaver's 2nd-inning solo homer gave IHCC an early 1-0 lead. Muscatine tied the game on a two-out single in the 4th. The Warriors took their 4-1 lead into the bottom of the 7th. Muscatine made it interesting with their two runs, but the Warriors closed out the Cardinals the same way they had the day before in their second win of the tournament.

In that game late Saturday afternoon, Sonja Holmes entered the contest in place of the starter, Coughlin, with a run in and the tying run on 2nd base. After a wild pitch moved the runner to 3rd, Holmes induced a ground ball to third base to nail down the 2-1 win.

Coughlin allowed only six hits and the lone run in picking up her 10th win of the season. It was a victory that allowed Indian Hills to go to the second day of the tournament as the only unbeaten team.

The Warriors had scored their only two runs against MCC on a bases-loaded single by Lizzy Tucker in the bottom of the 3rd. Indian Hills had only three hits in the game, all of them in the 3rd inning. But Coughlin and Holmes made the two runs stand up.

Indian Hills started the tourney with a big 4-1 win against top-seeded Southeastern CC in Saturday's first game. The Warriors had lost four of five regular season matchups with the BlackHawks, but grabbed a 2-0 lead in the 5th on a Morgan Powers RBI-double and a run-scoring single by McKenzie Cason.

After SCC's Amy Harner slammed a solo homer in the top of the 6th to make it a one-run game, the Warriors got two-out RBI-singles from pinch-hitter Sydney Hallbauer and Powers in the bottom of the inning for the final margin.

Haight scattered six hits in going the distance for the pitching victory for IHCC. Ryan Jehle had three of the Warriors' 11 hits and Powers, Cason and Tucker each had two.

Indian Hills is now 31-22 for the season. The Warriors will head to Neosho, Missouri to play Crowder College in the District K tournament May 7-8. The first game of the district tournament will be at 2:00 Friday afternoon (May 7). Game two will follow. And if a third game is necessary, it will be played at noon on Saturday.

The winner of the best-of-three series will advance to the NJCAA national tournament in St. George, Utah May 19-22.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Warriors and SCC Split in Region XI Play

Ottumwa -- A two-run rally in the bottom of the 7th inning allowed Indian Hills to come from behind and knock off league-leader Southeastern CC, 3-2, at Hellyer Field on Wednesday. The BlackHawks came back to defeat IHCC, 5-2, in the second game of the twinbill.

The Warriors' winning rally in the opener started with a walk to Kelly Ruepke. Lizzy Tucker's sacrifice bunt moved Ruepke into scoring position. She scored on a single by Tory Beaver and Beaver scored the game-winning run on Sarah Wilcox's single.

Ryan Jehle had gotten IHCC on the board with a solo homer in the 5th off SCC pitcher Hannah Baker, who went the distance in both games.

Southeastern's Alyssa Magg's two-run single in the 2nd opened the scoring. But that was all the BlackHawks got against IHCC pitcher Brandi Haight who held the visitors to just three hits, none after the 3rd inning.

SCC took a 1-0 lead in the 3rd inning of game two only to see the Warriors jump in front on a two-run homer by Ruepke in the bottom of the inning.

The Warriors were held in check after that even though they out-hit the visitors, 9-7.

SCC's Milagros Lozada belted a solo homer in the 4th to tie the game at 2 and SCC got the go-ahead run in the 5th on a bases-loaded walk to Lozada. The BlackHawks added two insurance runs in the 7th.

Kylee Coughlin went all the way in the circle in game two and took the loss for IHCC. Kris Penick, Beaver and Nicole Steinle all had two hits for the Warriors.

Indian Hills ends the regular season on Thursday in a 4:00 home doubleheader against Muscatine CC.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Warriors Blank Penn JV

Oskaloosa, IA -- Indian Hills tuned up for consecutive home doubleheaders against Southeastern and Muscatine with a 4-0 win over the William Penn junior varsity on Tuesday night.

Three IHCC pitchers combined to blank the Statesmen on five hits. Starter Brandi Haight went the first three innings and Kylee Coughlin and Sonja Holmes each pitched two innings. Haight struck out five.

IHCC scored a run in the 1st and added three more in the 4th.

Lizzy Tucker had two doubles for the Warriors while Tory Beaver, McKenzie Cason and Nicole Steinle also had two-base hits.

Beaver drove in two runs and scored one.

The final Region XI regular season action for IHCC takes place Wednesday and Thursday. The Warriors will battle Southeastern Wednesday and Muscatine the following day with the seeding for this weekend's postseason tourney still to be decided.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Warriors and Reivers Split Conference Twinbill

Council Bluffs, IA -- Indian Hills and Iowa Western each won a well-pitched game in a Region 11 softball doubleheader on Tuesday.

The Warriors got a two-out, two-run double from freshman Morgan Powers to take the first game, 3-1, in eight innings. Iowa Western countered with a leadoff, solo home run in the bottom of the 7th to win game two, 2-1 and gain a split.

Brandi Haight threw seven strong innings in the opener and got the win for IHCC. She allowed only six hits.

After Powers provided the Warriors with the lead in the top of the 8th, Sonja Holmes retired IWCC in order in the bottom of the inning to get the save.

Indian Hills' Tory Beaver had an RBI-single in the 1st inning to start the scoring. Iowa Western tied the game in the bottom of the 7th which set the stage for Powers' game-winning hit.

Kris Penick and Sarah Wilcox each had two hits for Indian Hills.

McKenzie Cason's run-scoring single in the top of the 7th tied the nightcap at 1-1. Penick had tripled and she scored on Cason's hit.

The Reivers tallied a first-inning run against Indian Hills pitcher Kylee Coughlin, who then shut down the home team until the game-deciding homer in the 7th. Coughlin only gave up four hits and struck out two.

The seventh-inning hits by Penick and Cason were two of only three that Indian Hills managed in the second game. Ryan Jehle had a double for the other hit.

Indian Hills is now 26-19 for the season and will host Southeastern CC in a conference doubleheader Saturday, starting at 1:00 at Hellyer Field.

Monday, April 5, 2010

Three Wins for IHCC in Softball Classic

Ottumwa, IA -- The Indian Hills softball team pushed its season record above the .500 mark as the Warriors won three of four games in the weekend IHCC Classic at R.L. Hellyer Field.

The Warriors played only once on Friday before the rains came, but managed to get in three games Saturday.

IHCC defeated Ellsworth CC 8-0 Friday. The Warriors then routed St. Louis CC-Meramec 15-0 in five innings and St. Charles CC 15-3 before losing to Southeastern CC 9-6 on Saturday.

The Ellsworth win featured a four-hit shutout by freshman Kylee Coughlin of the Warriors. Coughlin didn't walk anyone and struck out six in the complete-game effort. Her teammates backed her with 10 hits, three by freshman Sydney Hallbauer who drove in four runs.

Hallbauer singled in the first IHCC run in the 2nd. She doubled home another run in the 3rd and then supplied a two-run single in a four-run 5th.

Brandi Haight had a pair of RBIs and Ryan Jehle and Morgan Powers both scored twice.

The action Friday was suspended because of rain after only two games.

Saturday's play started with the Warriors erupting for 11 runs in the bottom of the 1st inning against Meramec. Tory Beaver had a grand slam homer and Lizzy Tucker a three-run shot in the opening inning for IHCC. Tucker had a two-run single earlier in the inning. Sarah Wilcox and Hallbauer had RBI hits in the 3rd and the Warriors tallied two unearned runs in the 4th.

Meanwhile, Brandi Haight tossed the second straight shutout in the tourney for the Warriors, limiting Meramec to just one hit in the five-inning complete game.

Indian Hills sprinted out to a 7-0 lead after an inning and a half in the game with St. Charles and finished the contest with a nine-run 7th inning.

The 17-hit IHCC attack was led by McKenzie Cason and Kelly Ruepke with three hits each and Wilcox, Haight and Jordan Grell with two apiece. Ruepke and Hallbauer had three RBIs and Wilcox scored three runs.

In a matchup between two Region XI rivals in the final game of the day -- a game which doesn't count in the conference standings -- Southeastern pushed across three runs in the 7th inning to knock off the Warriors 9-6.

Milagros Lozada had two of SCC's four homers in the game, including a leadoff shot in the 7th that was the game-winner.

Ruepke and Jehle each had two of the Warriors' 10 hits. Molly Mitchell started and went four innings for IHCC. Sonja Holmes took the loss in relief.

Indian Hills has a season record of 17-15-1 and goes to Iowa Central for a doubleheader on Tuesday before hosting Region XI foe Iowa Western on Friday, starting at 1:00.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Back on Track, Warriors Win Two

Pella, IA -- The Indian Hills softball team picked up a pair of much-needed victories on Wednesday, defeating the Central College junior varsity, 3-0 and 12-1.

The Warriors were reeling a little bit, having lost six straight games entering play against the Dutch JV, but had a couple of strong starting pitching performances and a resurgent offense to up their win total to 14 and get back to the .500 mark for the season.

Molly Mitchell threw six innings in game one, giving up only two hits and striking out six. Sonja Holmes completed the shutout. Sydney Hallbauer drove in two of the three IHCC runs and four different Warriors had a hit.

Brandi Haight earned her 6th win of the season in the second game, going all the way while allowing only three hits. She walked four and struck out three.

Haight benefited from a 12-hit attack that included three hits by Tory Beaver and two each for Kylee Coughlin and Kris Penick. Sarah Wilcox, Kelly Ruepke, Lizzy Tucker and Beaver all scored twice and Coughlin had two RBIs.

Indian Hills will host its own tournament this weekend, playing four games in two days, starting with a contest on Friday at noon against Ellsworth CC.

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Offense Struggles as IHCC Drops Two

Peoria, IL -- Indian Hills managed only seven hits and three runs in dropping both games of a non-conference doubleheader with Illinois Central on Tuesday. The hosts won 6-2 and 6-1.

The Warriors' offense was shut out until the 7th inning of the opener when they pushed across two runs. Sarah Wilcox, Kris Penick, Lizzy Tucker and Brandi Haight had the hits for IHCC and Wilcox and Haight scored the runs.

Starter Kylee Coughlin pitched the first five innings for the Warriors and took the loss. She gave up eight hits and five earned runs with four strikeouts. Haight gave up a run in her only inning of relief.

In game two, Indian Hills was again kept off the scoreboard until late, getting their lone run in the 6th inning. Lizzy Tucker drove in Kelly Ruepke with the IHCC tally. Tucker, Wilcox and Ryan Jehle had the IHCC hits.

Sonja Holmes took the loss, giving up 10 hits and only two earned runs in 5 1/3 innings.

The Warriors are back in action on Wednesday in a doubleheader in Pella against the Central College junior varsity.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Two Shutouts for IHCC at Penn

Oskaloosa, IA -- The Indian Hills softball team had their weekend trip to Branson, Missouri cancelled because of bad weather in southern Missouri. So coach Jim Overturf went looking for some games that his team could play this week with the start of the conference season looming this weekend.

William Penn agreed to have their junior varsity team host the Warriors on Monday and Indian Hills won both games, shutting out the Statesmen twice, 5-0 and 7-0.

The Warriors are now 12-8-1 for the season and have won all four games they've played since returning from their season-opening trip to Tennessee and Alabama.

Monday's first game was a scoreless tie through six innings before IHCC erupted for five runs in the top of the 7th. Kelly Ruepke and Molly Prybil drove in runs during the big inning and Ruepke, Sydney Hallbauer, Sarah Wilcox, McKenzie Cason and Kris Penick all scored for the Warriors.

Indian Hills was held to only five hits, but three went for extra bases -- a double by Lizzy Tucker and triples by Ruepke and Wilcox.

Brandi Haight was outstanding for Indian Hills, winning her 5th game of the spring. Haight went the distance, allowing only three hits and no walks while striking out five.

The Warriors jumped on top with two runs in the top of the 1st in game two. They tacked on five more runs in the 5th. Ryan Jehle and Tucker each picked up two hits for IHCC and Morgan Powers and Haight had doubles. Tucker had two RBI and Powers scored twice.

Three pitchers combined for the second-game shutout. Kylee Coughlin went the first four innings, giving up four hits. Molly Mitchell and Sonja Holmes provided scoreless relief, Mitchell going two innings and Holmes one. Each gave up only one hit.

Coach Overturf might try to take advantage of a favorable weather forecast for this week by looking for additional games for his team prior to two conference doubleheaders on the road this weekend. Indian Hills will go to Muscatine on Saturday and Southeastern on Sunday.

Friday, March 19, 2010

Sweep Starts Home Schedule for IHCC

Ottumwa -- In what may be the earliest home opener in the school's history, Indian Hills took both games of a doubleheader with Marshalltown CC on Thursday at R.L. Hellyer Field. The visitors took a brief early lead, but the Warriors rallied to win the first game, 8-3, and then finished off the sweep with a 4-2 win in the nightcap.

Indian Hills' season record is now 10-8 and the Warriors have won eight of their last 10 games.

In game one, Indian Hills jumped on top with an RBI-single by Jordan Grell in the
1st and a run-scoring grouner by Ryan Jehle in the 2nd. Marshalltown got their only offense of the opener on a three-run homer by Cayla Collins in the 3rd to take a 3-2 lead.

Indian Hills answered when Grell's fielder's choice grounder scored Kelly Ruepke, who had led off with a single, to tie the score at 3-all. The Warriors then took the lead for good with three unearned runs in the 5th. Ruepke led off with a single and eventually scored her third run of the game. Jehle's single brought home the final run of the frame.

Ruepke scored one of IHCC's two insurance runs in the 6th, her fourth run scored of the contest.

Brandi Haight started and worked six innings for the Warriors to get the win. Sonja Holmes pitched a perfect 7th inning in relief. Lizzy Tucker had three hits for IHCC.

The nightcap was a pitcher's duel through 4 1/2 innings. Indian Hills finally solved MCC pitcher Rachel Robinson in the bottom of the 5th, scoring two unearned runs. The first run came home on a throwing error and the second scored on McKenzie Cason's single to center.

After Marshalltown pushed across a run against IHCC starter Kylee Coughlin in the top of the 6th, the Warriors' Tricia Bix and Tory Beaver knocked in runs in the bottom of the inning.

Holmes replaced Coughlin with one out in the 7th and despite giving up a run, nailed down the win. Bix had two of the Warriors' seven hits and pinch-runner Morgan Powers scored twice.

The Warriors are slated to travel to Branson, Missouri for a weekend tournament, but the weather forecast for southern Missouri doesn't look good. The next scheduled games, after this weekend, are the first two league contests at home against Muscatine CC on March 27.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

IHCC Softball Signs Six for 2010

Ottumwa -- Indian Hills softball coach Jim Overturf has announced the signing of a six-player recruiting class for 2010.

The signees include Lindsey Evans, a catcher from Ottumwa High School; pitcher Hannah Washburn and outfielder Autumn Bowen, both from Keokuk; Burlington HS pitcher Ali Martin; Cortney Wood, an infielder from Alburnett; and Jenna Wolfe, an outfielder from Dallas Center-Grimes.

Evans led the Ottumwa Bulldogs in batting average (.395), RBIs (24), doubles (12) and slugging percentage (.521) and was tied for first on the team in hits (47) last year as a junior. She was a first-team catcher on the CIML Metro All-Conference team.

Washburn has been a Class 3A first-team all-state selection each of the last two years. In 2009, she had a 21-10 record and 0.77 ERA while striking out 231 batters in 208 innings pitched. She walked only 18 and allowed 23 earned runs. As a hitter, Washburn batted .289 with seven homers and a team-leading 22 RBIs.

Her teammate, Bowen, had a .282 batting average as a junior in '09. She had 10 doubles and four triples and swiped six bases. She has been an Honorable Mention All-State choice the past two seasons.

Martin compiled a 12-5 pitching record and 0.77 ERA last summer. She is also a strikeout pitcher, having recorded 166 Ks in 118 innings. Like Washburn, Martin also possesses excellent control with only 20 walks allowed. She was a third-team All-State pick in Class 4A.

Both Wood and Wolfe led their teams in batting average as juniors.

Wood hit .529 for Alburnett with 18 doubles, two triples and a homer among her 64 hits. She paced her team in RBIs with 36, had a .593 on-base percentage and a .736 slugging percentage. She was second-team All-State in Class 2A last year after an Honorable Mention All-State selection the year before.

Wolfe recorded a .367 batting average for DC-G last year with 40 hits, 32 runs scored and 26 RBIs. She led her team in all three categories, in addition to topping the team in average.