Kee softball team claims another perfect UIC title, ends regular season with second loss


Kee softball junior catcher/first baseman Chloe Severson heads for home and an excited greeting from her teammates after blasting a three-run homerun in the first game of the Hawks’ home doubleheader sweep of South Winneshiek Thursday, June 29. Severson was a combined three-for-four at the plate in the two games, driving in four runs and scoring four more of her own. Photo by Jordyn Burroughs. View and find out how to purchase this photo and many more by clicking on the Photo Galleries link on this website.

The Kee softball team turned in some ending results on each end of the spectrum during its final week of the regular season this past week. The Hawks completed a second consecutive undefeated Upper Iowa Conference (UIC) campaign to win their fourth straight UIC season championship, but brought their regular season to a close with just their second loss of the season, completing their best-ever regular season record of 32-2 with an unblemished 18-0 mark in UIC play.

That UIC title domination concluded with two final home doubleheader sweeps of 14-0 in three innings and 10-0 in five innings over Turkey Valley Monday, June 26 and 11-0 in five innings and 12-0 in four innings over South Winneshiek Thursday, June 29. That second consecutive undefeated Upper Iowa Conference crown featured a 205-3 outscoring by the Hawks in allowing just three UIC foes to score a single run all season. This year’s unblemished title continued a 44-game UIC winning streak dating back to June of 2015 and continues a four-year conference title streak that features a 73-3 record in UIC play.

Following completion of that undefeated Upper Iowa Conference season, the softball Hawks also wrapped up their overall regular season, but not with the same success. The two-day Don Bosco Tournament held Friday and Saturday, June 30 and July 1 saw the Hawks win three of four contests, defeating fellow UIC foe Starmont, 10-0 in five innings, and Class 2A fifth-rated Dyersville Beckman, 4-2, in their Friday competition. Kee continued that trend with a 7-1 win over Class 3A Union to open Saturday’s competition, but then fell to Class 3A eighth-rated Center Point-Urbana by a 9-3 count to bring their regular season to a close with just their second loss of this season.

After another historic regular season, the Hawks are scheduled to begin postseason tournament play Wednesday, July 5 at home against either Central Elkader or Turkey Valley, beginning at 7 p.m. Further postseason tournament details can be found in a shaded box elsewhere on the same Sports page in the print edition and e-edition of The Standard.

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