The #6 in class 5A Indianola softball team held off a Pella Christian rally in the sixth inning to win 9-3 Tuesday evening in Little Hawkeye Conference play in a game heard live on 94.3 KNIA. The Eagles struck first to start the game with a Bailey Roose leadoff double followed by a pair of groundouts to lead 1-0, with Destiny Lewis hitting a solo home run for the Indians to tie the score through the first inning. Indianola struck for three in the second all with two outs, getting an RBI single from Alley May and a two-RBI double from Lewis to lead 4-1. Pella Christian dug into the lead scoring a pair of runs off of a two-RBI double from Anna Bonnett, but Indianola again answered with a two-RBI single from Kylee Tucker to make the score 6-3 going into the fifth.

The Eagles would get their best chance to come back in the game with a bases loaded-no out situation in the sixth, but Indianola brought in pitcher Kate Kralik on in relief to get all three outs without allowing a run, and the Indians got another RBI hit from Tucker and a two-run homerun from Macie Mays to blow the game open in the bottom of the inning.

Indians head coach Stacy Evans tells KNIA Sports her squad is near the end of a 14-games in 10-days stretch, and when starting pitcher Kylee Tucker struggled at the end the team got a spark from Kralik, but she wants Indianola to be in the situation where the spark from the team and defense is there from the start and doesn’t need a change to create it.

The Indians improve to 20-3 on the season and 9-1 in conference play, and will host Pella tonight for a doubleheader on their home field. Pella Christian falls to 10-8 and 3-7, and make the road trip to #6 in 4A Norwalk tonight for a doubleheader.