The #9 in 2A Eagles baseball team split their games against Pekin and North Mahaska at the Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont Tournament on Saturday, while the #8 in 1A Pella Christian softball team dropped both of their tournament games against Chariton and Albia at Oskaloosa.
Following a tough extra inning loss Friday night, the Eagles baseball squad responded Saturday to down Pekin in the opening game of the tournament 8-5. Lincoln Vander Molen earned the win after pitching five innings of two hit baseball while striking out three. Six different Pella Christian batters recorded RBIs in the win over Pekin, with Caleb Van Arendonk being the lone player with two RBIs. Like Friday’s game, the Eagles second game of the tournament would be a pitcher’s duel with a similar result, as North Mahaska downed the P.C. 2-1 in eight innings. Trevor Veenstra took the tough loss on the mound after throwing all eight innings and giving up no earned runs on five hits. Pella Christian Head Coach Braden Shull said that the team showed improvement in areas they’ve worked on in practice, but added they still have room to grow.
“It’s kind of like pushing into a balloon, you push it in one spot and it gets going and then something pops out somewhere else. You focus too much on one thing to shore it up, and you’re going to find a leak somewhere else. So we found those leaks and we’re going to hammer that, we’re going to put it into action in the game, and we’re going to work on it in practice.”
Wrapping up their busy week, the Pella Christian softball team competed in games six and seven in the last five days. The Eagles began the day with a 7-2 loss to Chariton, before falling to Albia 10-7. While the results on the scoreboard didn’t favor P.C. the day wasn’t a total loss, as Senior shortstop Natalie Harrill became the all-time leader in home runs at Pella Christian. Harrill’s 19th career homer pushed her past 2017 graduate Lizzy Van Manen who hit 18 home runs in her time on Eagle Lane.
The Pella Christian baseball team’s record now sits at 4-5 on the season, while the Eagles softball team’s record now stands at 5-6. Both summer sports teams will be back in action Monday night hosting Little Hawkeye Conference doubleheaders against Dallas Center-Grimes. The second game of the Eagles baseball doubleheader can be heard live on the KRLS3 stream at KNIAKRLS.com beginning with pregame coverage at 7:15 p.m.