SOFTBALL INDIANS SUFFER FIRST NEIC LOSS AT WAVERLY, WIN OTHER TWO GAMES THIS WEEK

The Waukon Indian softball team experienced its first loss of this season in Northeast Iowa Conference play in winning two of three games this past week. After handling Starmont by a 7-0 result Monday, July 3 at home, the Indians were dealt a 4-1 NEIC loss at Waverly-Shell Rock Wednesday, July 5. The Tribe bounced back, however, to claim a 4-3 non-conference victory Friday, July 7 over Kee High at New Albin.
That loss to Waverly-Shell Rock tightens up an already close Northeast Iowa Conference race between the Indians, the Go-Hawks and Decorah. Both Waverly-Shell Rock and Decorah have two NEIC losses on the season, with the Indians having just one at this point. Waverly has just one NEIC game remaining, with Decorah having four conference games on its slate this week, including one with the Indians Friday, July 14.

NEIC Team Standings
Through July 8 games
      NEIC      O'all
WAUKON      9-1      22-4
Waverly-Shell Rock      9-2      27-2
Decorah      6-2      22-10
Charles City      4-5      20-14
New Hampton      3-7      16-14
Oelwein      3-7      8-11
Crestwood      0-10      5-25

Prior to that July 14 date at Decorah, the Indians will play at Central Elkader Tuesday, July 11 and in another NEIC date at Oelwein Wednesday, July 12. A win at Oelwein will guarantee the Indians at least a share of this year's Northeast Iowa Conference title. The July 14 date at Decorah is tentative, depending on the outcome of the other NEIC games this week, but the Tribe will for sure be taking on the Vikings Monday, July 17 in the first round of district tournament play at 8 p.m. at home.

vs. Starmont ...
The softball Indians had little trouble with Starmont on the defensive side of their Monday, July 3 non-conference tussle at home, but the offensive phase of the game presented somewhat of a challenge for the Tribe against the lesser Starmont squad. The Indians got a three-hit pitching performance from senior Kara Rea, playing flawless defense for seven innings to limit Starmont to just those three baserunners, all of whom were harmless.
The trouble the Indians experienced came from hitting the slower pitching of the Starmont club, as the Tribe managed just four hits. In addition to those four hits, the Indians were able to take advantage of seven free passes and five Starmont errors to secure the 7-0 victory.
The game also featured the final regular season home game for the four Indian seniors that led this year's team. Catcher Cassie Reinke, pitcher Kara Rea, first baseman Allison Blocker and third baseman Michelle Valley all played their final home game of the regular season in this contest, and all four were recognized before the game for their efforts.
With the defensive aspect of the game well in hand, the Indians helped their own cause by scoring in six of the game's seven innings. Two of those runs came right away in the first inning, getting a start when sophomore center fielder Shelby Nordheim was hit by a pitch. A one-out walk issued to senior catcher Cassie Reinke put two runners on the bags for the Tribe before a single to left by junior second baseman Crystal Magner filled the bags with Indians. A sacrifice fly to left field from sophomore designated hitter Jen Evanson then brought Nordheim home before Reinke was able to scamper home on a passed ball to make for a 2-0 Indian advantage.
Another two runs were added to the Indian total in the second frame, as the senior due of third baseman Michelle Valley and first baseman Allison Blocker both reached safely to lead off the inning, Valley on a single and Blocker on a base on balls. A series of passed balls brought both baserunners around to score, boosting the Tribe to a 4-0 advantage.
The Starmont defense helped the Tribe to a single run in each of the third and fifth innings. Senior pitcher Kara Rea drew a one-out walk in the third and her pinch runner, freshman Jessie Snitker, proceeded to steal second and take both third and home on back-to-back Star errors for a 5-0 Indian lead.
Junior right fielder Colleen Tierney took advantage of another Star miscue to reach base and advance to second in the fourth frame. Tierney then took third on a passed ball before being driven in by a single off the bat of Reinke to boost the Indians to a 6-0 advantage.
The final Indian run was added in the sixth frame, as another Starmont error showed up on the Tribe's side of the scoreboard. A one-out single from Magner put her on base before she stole second and was able to blaze home on the defensive miscue, finalizing the Indian scoring at the eventual 7-0 Indian win.
In allowing just three Starmont hits, Rea struck out six batters and walked none for the victory. Starmont's Emily Streicher gave up just four Indian hits and struck out four Indians, but walked five batters and hit two more in the loss.

at Waverly-SR ...
A troublesome fourth inning for the softball Indians proved to be the difference in their 4-1 Northeast Iowa Conference loss at Class 3A top-10 rated Waverly-Shell Rock Wednesday, July 5. A pair of Indian defensive errors were taken advantage of by the host Go-Hawks with four consecutive singles to bring three runs home in the inning, leading to the eventual, 4-1 Indian defeat.
"One bad inning," Waukon softball coach Jim Mauss said. "We gave them too many outs in that one inning, and it hurt us. We didn't hit the ball very well, either, so that makes big innings like that even tougher on you."
The Tribe's offensive woes loomed large in the first four innings of the contest, as the Indians were set down in order in frames one through four. Meanwhile, Waverly-Shell Rock managed baserunners in all four of those frames, getting out to an early, 1-0 lead with help from a lead-off double followed by a sacrifice and a run-scoring ground ball in the initial frame.
That fateful bottom of the fourth got off to a bad start with back-to-back Indian errors that allowed the first two batters to reach safely. Even though both of those initial runners were later thrown out at third, the Go-Hawks who were allowed to reach safely on those put-outs at third proved to be most damaging. With two outs in the books, the top of the Go-Hawk line-up shredded the Indian defense with four consecutive singles, driving in three runs to boost the Waverly advantage to 4-0 through four complete frames.
The Indians were able to recover, slightly, from that Go-Hawk eruption, turning a lead-off single by junior second baseman Crystal Magner into their initial run of the ballgame after she was sacrificed to second and took third on a single by sophomore left fielder Jaime Welch. A sacrifice fly to right field by senior third baseman Michelle Valley brought Magner home to cut the Go-Hawk lead to 4-1.
After turning Waverly away in order in the bottom of the fifth, the Indians got a boost from a lead-off walk issued to sophomore shortstop Shannon Rumph in the top of the sixth inning. However, back-to-back fielder's choice plays at second followed by a ground out to first ended any Indian hopes of further cutting into the Go-Hawk lead in that inning.
Indian defense again turned Waverly away in the bottom of the sixth, setting up the Tribe's final opportunity at the plate in the top of the seventh. A strikeout and line out to right field put two Indian outs in the books right away, but Welch gave one last breath of hope to the Tribe with a two-out single to left. That final hope was dashed, however, when an ensuing ground ball secured the final Indian out and the Tribe's first loss of the season in NEIC play by a 4-1 final result.
Indian senior pitcher Kara Rea was taken for nine hits by the Go-Hawks, allowing no walks and striking out two batters in suffering the loss on the mound. Waverly's Tarah Mulder limited the Tribe to just three hits in the contest, walking one batter and striking out four.

at Kee High ...
One poor inning also nearly proved to be the softball Indians' undoing in their non-conference battle against cross-county opponent Kee High of Lansing/New Albin Friday, July 7. Four Indian errors in the third inning provided the host Kee Hawks with more than enough help in scoring three runs, the only three runs they would score in the 4-3 Indian victory.
A two-inning trial period between the two clubs provided no offensive output on the scoreboard for either team in the first two frames, each team allowing the other a harmless single in the second, but not much more. The two then both erupted for multiple-run third frames, the Indians striking first.
A pair of walks issued to sophomore shortstop Shannon Rumph and junior right fielder Colleen Tierney, each on either side of a ground out, put runners on the corner bags for the Tribe. A passed ball brought Rumph scampering home before senior catcher Cassie Reinke drilled a double up the middle to score Tierney and give the Tribe a 2-0 advantage over the Kee Hawks.
What the Tribe had gained in the top of the second, it gave back one-and-a-half fold in the bottom of the frame, as four Indian errors, a walk and a Kee Hawk single quickly erased the Tribe's 2-0 advantage and left the Indians facing a 3-2 deficit.
Another scoreless exchange in the fourth inning gave way to a single-handed addition to the Indian run total by Reinke in the top of the fifth, as she smashed a two-out solo homer over the outfield fence for her first career homerun and a 3-3 knot on the scoreboard.
Kee High never did recover from that Reinke blast, being turned away in order in each of the game's final three innings after a lead-off error in the fifth gave the Kee Hawks their lone baserunner in those final three frames. The Indians managed to regain the lead in the top of the sixth frame, turning a lead-off double by sophomore left fielder Jaime Welch into a 4-3 advantage when senior first baseman reached safely on a Kee Hawk error that allowed Welch free passage home.
With the defense the Tribe played in those final three innings, that one-run advantage proved to be enough to secure the win, as the Indians held on for the 4-3 victory.
Indian senior pitcher Kara Rea allowed just three Kee Hawk hits in the contest, walking one batter and striking out five for the victory. Kee High's Courtney Schultz suffered the pitching loss, giving up eight Indian hits, walking three batters and striking out two.