At the midway point of the 2022 softball season, the girls of summer from the Tulip City will clash in what could be a high scoring contest Monday night.

Pella (7-9 overall, 3-5 in the Little Hawkeye Conference) will host Pella Christian (5-11, 1-8 in LHC) for the first meeting between the schools in 2022.

The 9th-ranked in Class 2A Eagles are trying to stop a seven game losing streak, having given up just over ten runs per game to just mustering an average of two runs per contest during this tough stretch. While 2021 All-State selections Emri Agre (.612 batting average, 15 extra base hits) and Natalie Harrill (.511 average, 11 XBH) continue to scorch the ball at the plate, P.C. is trying to find ways to restart the rest of a talented offense that has struggled lately against top 3A and 4A pitching. Eagles Head Coach Karen Harrill says her squad can’t panic, knowing they have time to right the ship.

“This conference is tough, it’s always been tough, and that’s going to help us in the end,” Harrill says. “It’s not much fun to go through a week like this — it’s not. We just need to make sure we are continuing to go back to our basics and to make sure we are having fun.”

Pella is coming off of its first doubleheader sweep in the conference since 2019, although they too have found more difficulty as the league season started, with Friday’s wins against Grinnell ending a 1-9 stretch for the Dutch. Ava Curry will look to match the dynamic duo from Eagle Lane in the batters’ box, as she’s up to a .519 average with 12 extra base hits. While the Eagles offense has slowed a bit as of late, Pella Head Coach Katie Gravert knows what they are capable of.

“We’re going to have to play defense,” she says. “P.C. — they always hit the ball and hit the ball hard, so we have to make sure to make the plays we can make, and we’re going to have to put runs on the board ourselves.”

A high scoring clash is common when these two teams compete against each other; the last time less than seven combined runs were scored in a single game between the Eagles and Dutch was in 2018, and the teams have combined to average 11.5 runs per matchup in their last ten meetings. Both Pella and Pella Christian are giving up nearly eight runs per game in 2022 as well.

In the 32 games played in the Tulip City softball showdown since 2009, the Eagles have won 21 games to 11 for the Dutch, and Pella snapped an eight game winning streak for P.C. on June 30th of last year.

Monday is Little League night at both the baseball and softball diamonds at Pella High School — youth athletes wearing their Little League shirt receive free admission and popcorn. Live coverage of varsity action in the Tulip City softball showdown begins at 7:15 p.m. on 92.1 KRLS and Pella Dutch Live.