The #6 in class 4A ranked Oskaloosa Indians softball team took down the #4 in class 3A Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont Rockets in a quick contest Tuesday night in Oskaloosa.
The Indians got on the board first with a well-executed manufactured run when Josie Bunnell got on, went from first to third on a bunt from Anna Jones, and came in to score off an Ava Vandewall sacrifice fly. That would make it 1-0 Indians after the 1st inning.
The Indians added more runs in the 3rd inning when Bunnell hit her team-high 7th home run of the season, this one a solo shot that hit off the left field foul pole. Maddie Haines, the team leader in runs batted in, would put the second run on the board in the 3rd with a double that brought in Vandewall.
The score would remain 3-0 Oskaloosa until the top of the 7th, mainly due to the pitching performances delivered by Oskaloosa’s Hayle Hacker and EBF’s Randie Richmond.
Hacker (7 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 K) bended a bit in the 9th, giving up 2 runs in the inning, but shut the door on the Rockets to get the win 3-2. Hacker picks up win number 17 on the year, while Richmond (6 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 1 K) picks up her 5th loss of the season.
Both the Indians (22-4) and the Rockets (26-6) are close to the start of the postseason, and both looked primed for state tournament appearances. Oskaloosa head coach Jay Harms said he believes the run to Fort Dodge will be tough however, as his team has to face some familiar competition.
“I wasn’t really happy with our draw to be honest with you,” said Harms. “If you look at it, we have the potential to play Newton four times, and some other teams we’ve seen a lot lately.”
Harms said he believes that familiarity with teams like Newton, Mount Pleasant, and Fairfield will make those games tougher for the Indians to win.
Oskaloosa’s first game of the postseason will be July 7 at 7 p.m. in Oskaloosa when they play the winner of Mount Pleasant vs Fairfield. That game, and every Indian postseason game, can be heard on 99.5 FM and 740 AM KMZN and all over the world at radiokmzn.com.
