INDIAN SOFTBALL TEAM TAKES FOUR MORE STEPS DOWN UNDEFEATED NEIC ROAD WITH WINS OVER OELWEIN, CHARLES CITY, CRESTWOOD AND NEW HAMPTON

The Waukon Indian softball team took several more steps toward a Northeast Iowa Conference championship season this past week, downing all four NEIC foes it faced in competition, three of them at home. The Indians opened the week with a 6-0 home win over Oelwein Monday, June 26 before downing Charles City on the road Tuesday, June 27 by a 6-2 final. The Tribe then took care of their home field in wrapping up the week with back-to-back NEIC home wins over Crestwood of Cresco, 10-1 Thursday, June 29, and New Hampton, 4-1 Friday, June 30.
The Tribe's only other scheduled date this past week was an all-important Wednesday, June 28 varsity doubleheader at Decorah that was rained out. NEIC bragging rights would have been on the line, as the Vikings sported just one conference loss on the season and were right behind the Indians' undefeated league record in the NEIC standings.
That game has been rescheduled for Friday, July 14, and may or may not take place depending upon the outcome of the remainder of the NEIC season. The Vikings went on to drop a 1-0 heartbreaker to Waverly-Shell Rock Thursday, June 29, tying them with the Go-Hawks for current runner-up honors in the NEIC standings with two losses each.
The Indians sit alone atop the NEIC with an unblemished 9-0 record in conference play, just part of a 20-3 overall mark that has the Indians currently ranked fourth in the state among Class 2A schools.
The upcoming week for the Indians will have an impact on the NEIC standings, as the Tribe has to travel to Waverly-Shell Rock Wednesday, July 5. The Indians will first play host to Starmont Monday, July 3 and then play at New Albin against Kee High Friday, July 7. The Tribe will then enter its final week of the regular season by playing at Central Elkader Tuesday, July 11 and at Oelwein Wednesday, July 12 in another NEIC clash. The Tribe will then possibly finish out its regular season with that pending make-up date at Decorah Friday, July 14 before hosting those same Class 2A 14th-rated Vikings Monday, July 17 at 8 p.m. in the first round of Class 2A District Tournament play.

vs. Oelwein ...
The Indian softball girls took another step forward down an undefeated NEIC path with a 6-0 win over Oelwein at home Monday, June 26. The game was rescheduled from its original June 13 date due to rain.
A five-hit shutout tossed by senior pitcher Kara Rea kept the Huskies in check, with some steady and timely defense also aiding the Indian cause. Rea and her defensive counterparts set Oelwein down in order in each of the game's first three innings, but the Huskies were finally able to manage multiple hits in frames four and five.
A pair of fourth-inning singles did little more than strand two Oelwein baserunners in that frame, but three hits in the fifth made for an impending threat to the Indian shutout. With one out, the visiting Huskies swatted out a trio of consecutive singles, with the initial baserunner being cut down at third by a throw from Indian sophomore center fielder Shelby Nordheim to keep the Oelwein opportunity under wraps.
Meanwhile, on the offensive side of the ball, the Indians managed baserunners in all but one of their six innings at the plate. Just three of those innings resulted in runs being scored, however, the first three being tallied in the second inning.
Singles by sophomore left fielder Jaime Welch and senior first baseman Allison Blocker put runners on first and second before sophomore shortstop Shannon Rumph drilled a two-out triple to right center to score both runners. Rumph also found her way home on an ensuing single up the middle off the bat of Nordheim, making for a 3-0 Indian advantage.
A silent third gave way to a two-run fourth inning for the Indians. Back-to-back singles from Rumph and Nordheim to lead off the inning were followed by a ground out from junior Colleen Tierney that scored Rumph and a single up the middle from senior catcher Cassie Reinke that brought Nordheim home for a 5-0 Tribe lead.
The hits kept coming for the Tribe in the bottom of the sixth inning, as three more were pounded out to tack on the final Indian run of the ballgame. Tierney started the inning with a one-out single, advanced on a single from junior second baseman Crystal Magner and then scored on yet another single - the 12th Indian hit of the game - from sophomore designated hitter Jen Evanson to finalize the game's end result at 6-0.
In allowing just five Husky hits, Rea struck out six batters and hit another batter, walking no one in the victory. Oelwein's Laura Hannasch was taken for 12 hits by the Tribe, striking out three Indians and walking none.

at Charles City ...
A final-inning surge by the Indians at Charles City Tuesday, June 27 put them comfortably in front of the host Comets on the way to earning a 6-2 Northeast Iowa Conference victory. That final surge came from a three-run homerun off the bat of junior Crystal Magner, as the hard-swinging second baseman lifted her first varsity career round-tripper over the fence with two runners on in the top of the seventh frame.
"She really got ahold of that one," Waukon softball coach Jim Mauss said. "She's been swinging the bat well for us, and she really hit that ball hard. We really needed it at that point. It gave us a little more breathing room against a team like Charles City."
Prior to that three-run tally with one swing of the bat, the Indians had posted their other three runs of the game in the top of the fourth inning, pounding out four hits and taking advantage of a Comet defensive miscue. Three consecutive hits to start the inning, including a lead-off double by senior catcher Cassie Reinke and back-to-back singles from Magner and sophomore designated hitter Jen Evanson, got the Indians on the board, as Reinke scored on Evanson's hit to right.
An error in sophomore left fielder Jaime Welch's at-bat brought Magner home to score before a two-out single from sophomore shortstop Shannon Rumph drove Evanson in for a 3-0 Indian lead.
Prior to that third-inning eruption, neither team had been able to muster much offensive production. With the exception of two harmless walks, the Indians had turned Charles City away in order in the first three frames, turning a double play on a liner to Rumph at shortstop to counter one of those Comet walks in the second frame. Charles City turned a double play of its own to halt the Tribe in the third, also stranding two Indians on base in the opening frame to help keep the Tribe silent early on offense.
Following the three-run Indian fourth frame, Charles City was able to tally its first run of the game in the bottom of the fifth. A lead-off single followed by a sacrifice and the first of two Indian errors in the inning put the Comets in position to score with a runner on third base and one out. An attempted squeeze play at the plate ended that threat, however, as Indian senior pitcher Kara Rea scooped up the ball and fired it to Reinke at the plate to deny the Comet run. The second Indian error of the inning finally did allow Charles City to score, however, as one run crossed the plate on the miscue to cut the Indian advantage to 3-1 through five complete innings of play.
Both teams allowed the other a baserunner in the sixth, but neither made good on that runner, setting up the final inning of play.
Indian junior right fielder Colleen Tierney got the Indian half of the inning jump-started with a one-out single to right, and she was joined on the basepaths by Reinke when she reached on a Comet error. With two runners on and just one out, Magner then unloaded on the first pitch from Comet hurler Mindy Kimm, knocking it out of the park to provide a free ride for Tierney, Reinke and herself and boosting the Indian advantage to 6-1.
The bottom half of the seventh frame also got off to a good start for the host Comets, giving hope to their final opportunity at the plate. A lead-off walk was followed by a single to put Comet runners on the corners before Rea was called for an illegal pitch, allowing the runner on third to score and cut the Indian advantage to 6-2. The fifth Indian error of the ballgame put two more runners in scoring position with just one out, but a timely strikeout by Rea and a ground ball back to her put the next two Comet batters in the books before any more damage could be done, leaving the Tribe with the 6-2 victory.
In claiming the win, Rea allowed just two Comet hits, walking three batters and striking out two more. Kimm suffered the pitching loss for Charles City, being taken for 13 hits by the Tribe, walking no one and striking out no one.

vs. Crestwood ...
A depleted Crestwood Cadette team was little match for the softball Indians at home Thursday, June 29. The Tribe hammered out six hits and took advantage of five Cadette errors to build an 8-0 lead through the first three frames against a Crestwood team that was missing some of its key members due to other commitments.
The first two Indian batters of the game both reached and scored to make for an early 2-0 Indian advantage. Sophomore center fielder Shelby Nordheim drilled a lead-off single and scored on a Cadet error that put junior right fielder Colleen Tierney safely on base at second. After taking third on a passed ball, Tierney scored on a ground out back to the pitcher to give the Tribe the early advantage.
Three more Indian hits and three more Cadette errors resulted in five Indian runs in the second frame. Back-to-back Cadette errors to start the frame put sophomore shortstop Shannon Rumph and Nordheim on base, but both were later cut down for the first two Indian outs of the frame, Rumph caught stealing at second and Nordheim tagged out on a fielder's choice.
A base on balls to Tierney and that fielder's choice from Reinke put two new runners on the bags for the Tribe, however, Tierney eventually finding her way home on a single to left by Magner and both Reinke and Magner scoring on an error in sophomore designated hitter Jen Evanson's at-bat for a 5-0 Indian advantage, still with two out.
A single to left center field by sophomore left fielder Jaime Welch scored Evanson before Welch, herself, was driven home by a double from senior third baseman Michelle Valley. The end result was a 7-0 Indian advantage through two complete innings of play.
The eighth Indian run of the contest was tallied in the bottom of the third when Rumph belted a lead-off single to left, took second on a passed ball, and was driven in by a two-out single up the middle from Reinke. Up to that point, the Indian defense had kept Crestwood well in check, allowing three Cadette baserunners in the first three frames, but not allowing any of them past second base.
The fourth inning saw the Indian reserves take over for their starting counterparts, with the exception of Evanson, who did replace senior pitcher Kara Rea on the mound, but still batted in her same spot in the line-up. In the bottom of the fourth, that was the lead-off spot for the Tribe, and Evanson made the most of it by drilling a single to right, taking second on a throwing error and scoring on a single up the middle by freshman third baseman Sarah Snitker to improve the Tribe's standing to 9-0 through four innings.
The Indian reserves continued to keep Crestwood in check by setting the Cadettes down in order in innings four and five. Two singles, a walk and an Indian error, however, finally did allow Crestwood to get on the board in the sixth inning with a single run.
That run was quickly made up for in the bottom of the sixth by the young Indians. Freshman Leah Willger had replaced Evanson on the mound after the fourth inning, and got her first opportunity at the plate in the bottom of that sixth frame. Back-to-back Cadette errors put Willger on first and advanced her to second before a ground out put her on third. Junior first baseman Crystal Franks then stepped to the plate to punch a single to right field, scoring Willger and building the Indian lead to 10-1 before the inning was brought to a close.
The Indian reserves gave Crestwood little opportunity to change that nine-run Indian margin in the top of the seventh inning, retiring the Cadettes in order in their final turn at the plate to close out the 10-1 Indian victory.
Indian senior pitcher Kara Rea limited Crestwood to just one hit in pitching the first three innings of the contest. Rea struck out five batters and walked one in picking up the win. Evanson struck out one of the three batters she faced in the fourth before Willger came on in the fifth to allow two hits, strike out four and walk just one batter in the game's final three frames. Crestwood's Michelle Truka was taken for nine hits by the Tribe, striking out four Indians, walking three and hitting another in the loss.

vs. New Hampton ...
The first two innings of play decided the Tribe's 4-1 victory at home over New Hampton Friday, June 30. After exchanging a single run with the visiting Chickasaws in the opening stanza of the contest, the Indians went on to post three more runs in the second inning and stepped up the defense to keep New Hampton silent for the game's remainder, securing the win.
A pair of Indian errors in the opening inning of play allowed New Hampton to post the first run of the ballgame, but the Tribe struck right back with three consecutive singles from junior right fielder Colleen Tierney, senior catcher Cassie Reinke and sophomore designated hitter Jen Evanson, Tierney scoring on Evanson's hit to knot the score at 1-1.
Indian senior pitcher Kara Rea allowed just two Chickasaw hits in the game's remaining six innings, each a harmless single in the second and fourth innings. Rea's defensive support closed ranks to also play flawless defense in those final six frames, allowing no more than those two Chickasaw baserunners who earned their way.
The same could be said on the other side of the coin following the second inning, as the Chickasaw defense allowed just two Indian baserunners on a pair of harmless singles in the third and sixth innings. But, that was after the second inning.
The bottom of that inning number two proved to be most decisive, as the Indians took advantage of three New Hampton errors and a hit batsman to post three runs and take the eventual game-winning 4-1 lead. Back-to-back errors to lead off the bottom of the second put senior first baseman Allison Blocker and sophomore shortstop Shannon Rumph on base before sophomore center fielder Shelby Nordheim was hit by a pitch to load the bases with Indians.
A fielder's choice back to the pitcher by Tierney put Blocker out at the plate before a passed ball brought Rumph home from third to put the Indians up, 2-1. A ground ball by Reinke then scored Nordheim from third before another passed ball brought Tierney sprinting home to finalize the scoring at 4-1. The scoreless exchange over the next five innings clinched the 4-1 Indian victory.
Rea secured career pitching win number 85 in limiting New Hampton to just two hits, striking out seven and walking no one. New Hampton's Lindsay Smith suffered the pitching loss, being taken for six hits by the Indians, hitting one batter and neither striking out nor walking any other Indian batters.