Wednesday preps: Lady Dees rally late at Clarke

May 23—OSCEOLA — After twice battling back to catch Clarke, Addi Hill provided 15th-ranked (3A) Albia with the late dash to win a sprint to the finish in Wednesday night's season-opening South Central Conference softball clash.

Hill lined an 0-2 pitch down the left field line leading off the top of the seventh inning and sprinted around the bases as Avery Watson raced after the ball along the fence. Hill kept on running and didn't stop until crossing home plate for a go-ahead inside-the-park home run, lifting the Lady Dees to a thrilling 4-3 win over the Indians.

Albia managed just one hit off Watson over the first four innings, allowing Clarke to carry a 2-0 lead into the fifth. The Lady Dees manufactured a pair of tying runs as Makenna Cronin walked and Juliana Brown singled to center before a bunt by Sayler Rozenboom led to a throwing error that brought in Cronin and allowed Brown to reach third, setting up Lillian DeMoss for a game-tying sacrifice fly to left.

Madisyn McCoy's two-out RBI double in the bottom of the fifth briefly gave Clarke the lead back before Cronin answered in the sixth with an RBI double of her own to tie the game again at 3-3. Grace Pence retired Clarke in order in the sixth, setting up Hill for the go-ahead lead-off inside-the-park home run, before striking out McCoy and Alissa Henry with a runner on to clinch the comeback win for the Lady Dees.

Albia (1-0, 1-0 SCC) travels to Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont on Friday.

Centerville 6, No. 13 (3A) Chariton 5

CENTERVILLE — Down to their final three outs in season and home debut, the Redettes pulled off a thrilling comeback on Wednesday to stun the 13th-ranked Chargers.

Centerville brought in four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, walking off with a South Central Conference victory. After putting the first two batters on base, the top of the Redette batting order kept the winning rally going with timely hits in the final inning.

After stepping out of conference to host Oskaloosa, Centerville (1-0, 1-0 SCC) returns to SCC action facing Davis County in Bloomfield on Friday. The Redettes also host a six-team tournament on Saturday with Moravia, Danville, Carlisle, Central Lee and Seymour competing at the softball facility on the Indian Hills campus next to Pat Daugherty Field.

No. 2 (1A) Sigourney 12, Keota 0

SIGOURNEY — Carly Goodwin recorded all nine outs for the second-ranked Savages in a South Iowa Cedar League rout on Wednesday, striking out nine batters over three innings allowing just one second-inning single to Keota starting pitcher Kennedy Jackson.

Goodwin added two hits at the plate off Jackson, including a double, while scoring three of Sigourney's 12 runs. Amiya Smallwood doubled in the final two runs of the contest in the bottom of the third, finishing with three RBI and a run scored for the Savages.

Sigourney (2-0, 2-0 SICL) faces English Valleys on Friday to wrap up the opening week of the season.

Knoxville 9, Davis County 2

KNOXVILLE — Ciera Heffron connected on one of Knoxville's four doubles in a South Central Conference win for the Panthers, driving in two runs with two hits while striking out 10 Mustang batters in the pitching circle.

Addison McClure scored the first run of the game in the top of the first inning, coming home on an RBI groundout by Hayden Humphrey after Davis County loaded the bases with one out early against Heffron. The power of the Panthers at the plate proved to be too much as Knoxville connected on seven doubles, including two by Hannah Dunkin, and a two-run home run by Macy Cox in the bottom of the second inning that opened a 5-1 lead.

Davis County (0-2, 0-1 SCC) hosts Centerville on Friday.

No. 3 (1A) Wayne 12, Moravia 0

MORAVIA — Izzie Moore faced the minimum in five innings of work for the Falcons in the pitching circle, allowing just one base runner after hitting Mohawk lead-off hitter Layla Ewing on the way to an 11-strikeout no-hitter.

Allie Jo Fortune doubled and homered, driving in two runs for Wayne. Ella Whitney finished a home run shy of hitting for the cycle scoring three times while driving in one for the Falcons.

Moravia (0-1) wraps up the week with back-to-back Bluegrass Conference battles at Orient-Macksburg before hosting Melcher-Dallas on Friday. The Mohawks will also participate in the Centerville Redette Invitational, held on the IHCC campus, on Saturday.

PREP BASEBALL

Moravia 11, Wayne 5

MORAVIA — Four runs in the opening inning set the tone for the Mohawks.

Moravia scored in each of the first five innings, securing the team's first win of the season. The Mohawks had opened the season facing fellow state tournament hopefuls Martensdale-St. Mary's (7-6), Burlington-Notre Dame (5-2) and Sumner-Fredericksburg (9-1).

Moravia (1-3) hosts Melcher-Dallas in Bluegrass Conference action on Friday.

Sigourney 7, Keota 5

SIGOURNEY — Chase and Caden Clarahan each had hits and drove in a pair of runs for the Savages, who scored twice in the bottom of the sixth to secure a South Iowa Cedar League win over the Eagles.

Reid Molyneux added a single while driving in two runs for Sigourney. Cole McKay doubled and scored twice, helping Solon Yates pick up another win out of the bullpen pitching in relief of Chase Clarahan for the second time in three games.

Sigourney (3-0, 2-0 SICL) takes on English Valleys on Friday.

Knoxville 3-16, Davis County 2-6

KNOXVILLE — After holding off a late charge by the Mustangs in the opening game of a South Central Conference doubleheader, Knoxville raced away with the nightcap scoring six runs in the bottom of the sixth to clinch a 10-run victory to complete the sweep.

Lincoln Norris played a key role in both wins on Wednesday for Knoxville, picking up the win in the opening game on the mound allowing just one earned run to the Mustangs on three hits while striking out six batters over seven innings. After going 3-3 in game one, scoring a run in the fifth on RBI single by Trey Wight, Norris drove in five runs in the second game with a pair of hits.

Nolan Cremer had an RBI double in the opening game for Davis County, helping the Mustangs cut into Knoxville's three-run lead in the sixth. Davis County came within a hit of tying the game in the seventh, putting the tying run at second base, before Norris forced Deacon West into a game-ending groundout to third.

Presley Cantrell doubled and drove in a pair of runs as part of a two-hit effort in game two for Davis County. Cremer added his second hit while scoring twice for the Mustangs in the nightcap.

Davis County (1-2, 1-2 SCC) hosts Centerville on Friday.

Clarke 9, Albia 4

OSCEOLA — Despite capitalizing on a shaky start by Clarke pitcher Bryce Giza, scoring a pair of runs in the opening inning, the Blue Demons could not hold off the undefeated Indians. Clarke scored three runs to regain the lead without surrendering its first out of the contest in the bottom of the first of the South Central Conference contest.

Drake Irwin collected two of Albia's five hits in the contest, scoring on an error in the third inning as the Blue Demons cut Clarke's early lead to 5-3. Eli Fry went 3-3 at the plate for Clarke, scoring twice, while Jesus Vega Torres added two hits and a run scored while driving in a game-high three runs at the plate.

Albia (1-1, 0-1 SCC) heads to Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont on Friday.