On the softball side of things last night, Oskaloosa got a 9-4 win over Newton. The offensive standouts were Kylee Silliman and Aubrey Miller, who both launched home runs to pad the lead for the Indians. Newton would smack a three-run homer of their own late to make the score 9-4 for the final.

Oskaloosa, the second ranked team in Class 4A, has a huge game in non-conference play tonight against fellow area squad Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont. The 22-2 Indians will have to contend with the #2 team in Class 2A in the Rockets, who knocked off Osky at Lacey Recreation Complex 3-0 in last year’s meeting. This game is a huge preview of two teams that could very well make a return trip to the state tournament in Fort Dodge, and you can hear it live on the Mahaska Zone Network, 99.5 FM and AM 740 KMZN and on kboeradio.com, with our pregame starting right around 7:15 for the 7:30 first pitch.

In a doubleheader you heard on the Mahaska Zone Network, the Oskaloosa baseball team showed its resiliency in a split with Newton.

Game 1 got off to an inauspicious start with Newton scoring a couple of runs on misplayed balls in the first inning before Oskaloosa even had a chance to bat. In the second inning, however, the Indians were able to scratch across a couple of runs of their own against Cardinal right-hander Connor Gholson, who had an ERA under 1 entering the game. The teams exchanged quick innings until the fifth, when Newton had a two-out rally against Oskaloosa starter TJ Boyle, sending 10 batters to the plate and plating four runs to take a 6-2 lead. Oskaloosa would not go quietly, though, as in the sixth, the bottom of the Indian order scratched across three runs. The big hits came from Mitchell Schaffner with a single and Bennett Spry with a sacrifice fly, who each drove in a run. In the 7^th, Newton plated what appeared to be a huge insurance run to take a 7-5 lead into the bottom of the inning, but Oskaloosa again would put up a fight. Down to his last strike with runners on first and second, Mitchell Schaffner lined a double down the left field line to bring the Indians within one. Next up was freshman Alex DeJong, and he came through with a single up the middle to tie the game. A couple of batters later, TJ Boyle came up and launched a ball to the wall in left-center field to score Schaffner for the win, a huge come-from-behind confidence builder for Coach Clint Gingerich and the squad.

Unfortunately, Osky was unable to capitalize on that momentum, as Newton’s Tyler Wood threw a two-hit shutout and got the win 3-0. The Cardinals plated one run in the first, but squandered a couple of bases loaded opportunities in the middle innings before scoring a pair of insurance runs in the top of the seventh.

After the doubleheader, Oskaloosa is 15-5 on the year, and 9-4 in the conference. The Indians do play conference-leading Pella at home in a doubleheader next Monday, and should the Indians win both of those games, they would be tied in the loss column with the Dutch in the conference race. Newton is also hanging around in that race, sitting at 13-7 overall and 7-4 in the conference.

The Indians are on the road at Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont tonight, starting at 7:30.

The newest rankings have been released by the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union, and features some changes, with several area teams still floating around the top in their respective classes.

In Class 1A, Lynnville-Sully is up one spot to #6. The Hawks sit just outside the top five, which are Akron-Westfield, New London, Don Bosco, AGWSR, and Woodbury Central.

In Class 2A, Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont is still #2, just behind Highland. The Rockets are followed by Central Springs, IKM-Manning, and Fort Dodge St. Edmond to round out the top five. Pella Christian is still #6 after a big week, which included them handing Oskaloosa their first loss of the season.

In Class 3A, the list remains the same with minimal shuffling, with Mid-Prairie the lone area team sitting in the #8 spot. Benton Community is #1, followed by Solon, East Marshall, Greene County, and Spirit Lake in the top five.

In Class 4A, Oskaloosa has been displaced following a two-loss week. They are now #2 behind future Little Hawkeye Conference foe Indianola. Indianola has been on a roll, and only have two losses on the year as well. Carlisle is #3, followed by ADM and Fort Dodge. Norwalk is down two spots to #9, but still lead the Little Hawkeye Conference.

Dallas Center-Grimes is still #12 after getting a big win over Oskaloosa in Osky last week. Fairfield has popped back into the rankings at #13, and they are followed by Knoxville, who appear for the first time at #14.

Finally, in Class 5A, there are no area teams, with Iowa City West at the top. West Des Moines Valley is sitting in second. Johnston is down from #1 to third, followed by Pleasant Valley and Cedar Rapids Jefferson to round out the top five.

At this point, the rankings are just for kicks, as the regions for all five classes have been released. Next Monday is the scheduled date for the first round of games in the smaller classes, and to prepare you with the forecast and breakdown of each and every team’s chances of advancing, we’ll present BracketMania: Softball Edition on 99.5 FM and AM 740 KMZN and on kboeradio.com this Friday night at 6 PM.

This two-hour special will involve bracket schedules, coach interviews, and predictions of over two-dozen area schools and how far they’ll go in postseason play.

For full rankings and regional brackets, check out www.ighsau.org.