Pella Christian withstood a late rally from Pella to win 4-3 in the rubber match of the crosstown softball rivalry Wednesday night. The Eagles got started early, scoring two runs in the first inning on a two RBI triple by eighth grader Brooke Mitrisin. Pella cut the lead in half in the top of the third on an RBI single from Morgan Ernst, however Mitrisin smacked another RBI double in the bottom half of the inning to put the Eagles up 3-1. Pinch hitter Lydia Bandstra, who had just one hit in 15 at bats all season, drove a full count pitch in the fifth over the center field fence to put the Eagles up 4-2. Pella didn’t go down easy however as they scored one run in the sixth inning but left the tying run at third base to end the game. Eagles Coach Nate Van Wyk said after the game that he was very pleased with his girls’ patience at the plate and the way they stayed focused all game long to get the win. Pella Coach Krista DeMeulenaere said the first inning errors came back to haunt them in the end but credited her girls for fighting back and having a chance to win. Pella falls to 11-14 overall and 7-4 in the conference while Pella Christian improved to 11-12-1 and 5-6 in conference play. Both teams return to action tomorrow as Pella hosts Knoxville while Pella Christian travels to Norwalk for a doubleheader.

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