A very even match-up between two of the top teams in the Little Hawkeye Conference needed an extra inning to be decided, but the Pella softball team came up on the short end of a 3-2 loss in Oskaloosa on Monday night.
Broadcast on 92.1 fm KRLS, the game saw the two teams alternate runs in each of the first four frames, but remained tied from the fourth inning through the next three-and-a-half innings.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, the Indians drew a walk, then moved a pinch runner to third base on consecutive ground-outs. Down to their final out, Oskaloosa’s Maddi Ewing got to play the role of heroine with her third single of the game – a low fly ball that just cleared the infield and dropped in right field for an RBI single to give the Indians the win.
Pella’s Mandy DeMeulenaere was solid in the circle, relying on a steady defense to back her up as she had one strike-out and gave up seven hits.
On offense, meanwhile, the Lady Dutch at nine hits of their own, led by Bri Arkema’s two doubles on 2-of-3 hitting with two RBIs. Both of those runs were scored by lead-off batter Whitney Williams, who went 2-for-4 at the plate for Pella.
Despite the narrow loss, Lady Dutch Head Coach Krista DeMeulenaere says the team won’t have time to dwell on disappointment.
“We’ve got a big week yet. We play Tuesday, and then we come back with conference [games] on Wednesday and Thursday,” said DeMeulenaere.
“We had two big wins early in the season; this one I knew coming in was going to be tough – just as I knew Norwalk and Newton would be tough [games]. Nothing is easy in the Little Hawkeye Conference.”
The Pella softball team is 4-3 overall with a non-conference game against Centerville Tuesday night, followed by conference games with South Tama and Grinnell on Wednesday and Thursday.