A rivalry that has featured walk-offs and back-and-forth contests over the past decade didn’t quite live up to that lofty billing as a new-look Eagles program struggled to handle the Dutch softball team Friday. So much so that injuries forced Pella Christian to forfeit game one, and allowed Pella to dominate game two 16-3 in a doubleheader scheduled that turned into a single game heard live on KRLS3.

An uphill climb didn’t stop Pella Christian from starting the game with a 1-2-3 defensive inning before they struck first with an Addison Bandstra RBI single. But the Dutch found their rhythm in the 2nd inning, scoring eight times, and adding four more runs in the top of the 3rd. The Eagles responded with two runs and a Brynn Roozeboom double in the 3rd, but the Dutch were able to end festivities in the 4th inning with the mercy rule.

For Pella, the team tallied six extra base hits, which included a 3-for-3 effort for Emma Eekhoff with a home run and a double, a home run for Ava Curry, a 2-for-3 night with a double for Elah Hiemstra, and a 2-for-2 night with a double and triple from Katie Scheckel. Eagles lead off hitter Faith Kacmarynski scored twice and tallied a double against winning pitcher from Pella Saige DeJong.

The Dutch improve to 9-4 overall and 6-2 in the conference, and are off until they travel to Knoxville Tuesday; the Eagles fall to 1-10 and 0-8 in league play, and host #1 in 4A Norwalk on Monday, a broadcast featured on 92.1 KRLS.