It may be hard to believe, but Pella Christian and Knoxville’s softball teams played each other for just the first time of the season last night, and it was the Panthers that ended up on top, 15 – 3. Knoxville scored first on an RBI single by Cheyenne Jones, and then added four more with two outs in the third, on a grand slam by pitcher Emily Wallace, which opened the floodgates for the rest of the game. The Panthers added three more in the sixth and broke it wide open with a seven-run seventh to put the game out of reach. Wallace did allow three runs, but her defense did the job behind her, playing a near spotless game. Knoxville Coach Steph Christner said after the game that her team’s defense has been drastically improving with each passing contest. Eagles’ head coach, Nate Van Wyk said it was a combination of off-nights by the pitching and by the defense that were the demise of his team. Natalie Huisman and Shannon Fynaardt each had a pair of hits and Brooke Mitrisin added an RBI triple for the Eagles, who fall to 11 – 15 – 1, and the win improves Knoxville’s record to 9 – 14. The Panthers are back at it tonight with a doubleheader against Oskaloosa, and the Eagles will fly into Grinnell for two games on Wednesday.