It’s been a long time since the Pella softball team has been as competitive as they were in 2022, and they kick off a loaded countdown of Dutch stories from the previous academic year with a flare for the dramatic with our No. 10 moment.

Up to this point, Pella’s softball team had walk-offs vs. Newton and Grinnell — and were knocking down several milestones for a program trying to get back to their winning ways from the early part of the previous decade.

So in a Tulip City rivalry showdown on June 13th that they were able to get to extra innings against Pella Christian with back-and-forth scoring in regulation, the Dutch were down to their final strike after giving up three runs in the top of the 8th, and an athlete who battled multiple offseason and early season injuries came through in one of the most memorable moments in program history.

Kiki Riggen tied the Eagles-Dutch showdown in the bottom of the 8th to force another inning with a massive home run to left. And a teammate broke out of an early season slump to end it one inning later, as Catrina Dixson put the exclamation point on a wild June night.

Pella knocked down several long-standing records of frustration — including tallying their first conference doubleheader sweep, league season series win, and more in several years.

The walk-off never happens if not for a Kiki Riggen three-run smash to tie the game with two outs and a 1-2 count in the 8th. Wild night indeed. pic.twitter.com/2Ngt9JseTy

— Andrew Schneider (@xzono) June 14, 2022