A promising start for the Pella Christian softball team Tuesday night faded as they fell to Class 3A #15 Albia 14-1 in a game heard live on 92.1 KRLS.

After Laurel Roozeboom worked around a leadoff single to keep the Lady Dees off the scoreboard in the first inning, the Eagles offense capitalized on that momentum. A two-out double to right field from Brynn Roozeboom in the bottom of the first led to a Claire Braafhart RBI single, giving Pella Christian a 1-0 lead. Despite grabbing the early advantage, Pella Christian’s lead was short lived as Albia responded with eight runs over the second and third innings to take control of the game. The Eagles calmed the Lady Dee bats in the fourth inning for a scoreless frame, but Albia scored six runs over the final three innings to finish off the win. Laurel Roozeboom suffered the complete game loss in the circle, allowing just seven earned runs on 14 hits and a walk, while striking out two. Rachel Kacmarynski added Pella Christian’s only other hit in the game, reaching on a bunt single in the bottom of the second inning. While the Eagles dropped to 1-2 overall with the loss, head coach Mindi Kacmarynski said that they had some positive takeaways from the game.

“They’re a great team, and it was good for us to see some quality pitching. When I look out, and I’m thinking about who our hitters are, we have six girls that did not play varsity last year. And so, that’s a big deal for them to come out and learn to start hitting off of quality pitchers, how to have a quality at bat. So, I feel like tonight, even though the score did get away from us, there were some real positives in that.”

Pella Christian’s softball and baseball teams are back in action tonight with Little Hawkeye Conference doubleheaders against Indianola, with both beginning at 5:30 pm. The second game of the softball doubleheader can be heard live on 94.3 KNIA, while the second game of the baseball twinbill can be heard live on 92.1 KRLS.