The Indianola baseball team stayed atop the Little Hawkeye Conference with a doubleheader sweep over Grinnell Friday night 3-1 and 9-0, while the softball team may have had their conference title hopes dashed with a split against the Tigers winning game one 5-2 and falling 5-3 in the nightcap.

The softball team jumped out early in game one, scoring five runs unanswered with a pair in the first and three more in the third before Grinnell could muster any offense. Izzie Benge got the win in the circle while also earning a base hit and two runs batted in. Game two had the Indians score first, only to see the Tigers answer to tie the score at one. Indianola scored the go-ahead run in the fifth, but Grinnell scored two in the fifth and two more in the sixth to get a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Brynn Ortlund had three hits in the loss.

The baseball team saw another gem from Andrew DeWall on the mound in game one, going six innings giving up just five hits and an earned run, while Kaden Ritchie earned his 10th save. Cooper Belt hit an RBI double in the fifth, while Bennett Brueck and Gage Sinn had RBI hits in the sixth. Game two was another masterclass from Luke Byers, going the full complete game shutout with eight strikeouts for the win. Brueck went 4-4 with a double and a homerun, while Brady Blake had a three-RBI night. Head coach Jon Fitzpatrick tells KNIA Sports the pitching staff is just getting stronger as the season goes on, and the squad is finding their groove when the guys a dealing on the mound.

Softball is now 20-9 on the season and 13-4 on the season, and hosts a tournament today. Baseball is now 22-7 and 14-3, and travels to Ankeny for a tournament today.