Despite a great night from starting pitcher Laurel Roozeboom, the Pella Christian softball team was unable to come through with timely hits in a 3-0 season-ending loss to Grand View Christian in the Class 2A regional first round game heard live on 92.1 KRLS Monday night.

The Eagles and Thunder traded scoreless frames through the first two innings, before Grand View Christian broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the third. With a runner on second and two outs, a collision at first base resulted in a Pella Christian error that allowed the Thunder’s Livy Vander Sluis to score the game’s first run. Grand View added two runs in the fifth inning, with Morgan Pelham scoring on Maiah Murphy’s single and Murphy scoring on an error off the bat of Addie Hackett, to take a 3-0 lead they never relinquished. 

In the circle for the Eagles, Roozeboom allowed just one earned run on six hits and no walks, while striking out two in the complete game loss. Laurel also came through with one of Pella Christian’s two hits on the night, with fellow eighth grader Mya Huisman providing the other. In her final game wearing an Eagles uniform, Claire Braafhart didn’t record an at-bat, getting walked in all three of her plate appearances on the night. While wins eluded the Eagles in a difficult schedule, Braafhart said she enjoyed playing with this team and their attitudes throughout the season.

“We kept fighting through the end. We had a lot of struggles and injuries, and we just kept pushing through and kept fighting, and I love these girls so much and our coaches really poured into us. It was a really amazing season.”

Hear more from Claire Braafhart on Today’s Lely Radio Sports Page. Pella Christian ends the summer with a 1-24 overall record and graduates two seniors in Braafhart and Claire Winn-Fogle.