In a game you heard on the Mahaska Zone Network, the Oskaloosa softball squad took their 13-0 record to the field against the two-time defending state champion Dallas Center-Grimes Fillies looking to get the win and put themselves in good position in the conference. In the top of the first, Oskaloosa plated the first run of the game off starter Allie Boender with an RBI single by Aubrey Miller to score Kylee Silliman. Dallas Center-Grimes would grab their first run of the game in the bottom of the second after a couple of hard hit balls into centerfield. Oskaloosa’s defense would come through, however, throwing out another potential runner at the plate to keep the game tied.

The teams would go back and forth into the top of the seventh inning where the bottom third of the Indian order was due up. Number seven hitter Alexis Groet reached on a fielding error, which brought up number eight hitter Alexis Vroegh with a runner on and no outs. On an 0-1 count after a failed bunt attempt Vroegh made contact and drove the ball over the left-center field fence to give Oskaloosa a 3-1 lead. It’s Vroegh’s first home run of the year. She now has 10 RBI. She entered the contest as Oskaloosa’s leading hitter. Oskaloosa would hold off DCG in the bottom of the seventh, stranding two runners on after right handed pitcher Alexis Groet induced a groundout to record the final out.

The win puts Oskaloosa at 14-0 this season and 3-0 in the Little Hawkeye Conference. Dallas Center-Grimes fell to 9-4 and 2-2 in the conference. The Indians are #2 in the Iowa High School Girls’ Athletic Union rankings this week in Class 4A, and with #1 Fort Dodge having lost four games in the early going and a big win over #3 Dallas Center-Grimes, Head Coach Jay Harms and his team have a legitimate claim to their first #1 ranking in team history. The girls are next in action in a single varsity game against Newton on Friday.

The Oskaloosa baseball team also played in a thriller last night, but fell for the first time this year. The final score was 3-2 with DCG on top, but the game took 12 innings to complete. The Indians are now 7-1 so far this year, and face Newton on the road Friday.

The Monroe County Fairgrounds saw a huge crowd at the rain free 10th Annual Dan Larson Memorial Bull Ride, Saturday, June 6th.

Austin Martin of Ashland, Missouri, was the champion bull rider. 2nd place went to Henry Schwartz of Waverly, Iowa, with 3 & 4 split between John Young of Orient, Iowa, and Dustin Rains from Sparta, Missouri. Casey Woodhouse of Steuben, Wisconsin, claimed 5th place. Bull Riders from 7 states & Mexico were in hot pursuit of the $3,000 Added Bull Ride Prize as well as the coveted custom made knife made by Jack Ames of Osceola, Iowa, given by the Larson’s of Albia, Iowa.

1st place in the barrel racing event went to Stephanie Elliott, 2nd went to Amanda Williams of Albia with 3rd going to Kylee Van Dusseldorp of Oskaloosa.  4th place was Morgan Arnold hails from Corydon, Iowa. 5th place was Rosella Draughn of Oskaloosa then 6th went to Ashley Manwarren of Emmetsburg, Iowa.

The William Penn men’s basketball team is hosting three camps this summer.

The first two are individual skills camps with the first being from July 6-8 for boys entering grades 4-8. The second is July 16-17 for high school boys. Each camp day will last from 9 a.m. until noon in Penn Gymnasium. The cost for each camp is $65 with attendees receiving a t-shirt and instruction from high school and collegiate coaches and collegiate players.

The final summer event is a high school team camp from August 1-2. Varsity teams are guaranteed five games for a cost of $250, while JV squads are guaranteed four contests for a price of $200.

For more information, contact Head Coach John Henry at 641-673-1108 or by email at henryj@wmpenn.edu or Assistant Coach Blake Sandquist at 641-673-1309 or by email at sandquistb@wmpenn.edu.

The William Penn women’s basketball team is hosting two more camps this summer.

The first is July 20-22 for girls entering grades 9-12. Each camp day will last from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m. in Penn Gymnasium. The cost for the youth camp is $60, while the ‘high school’ camp is $80.

The final summer event is a high school team camp from July 24-25. Teams can choose to come for one day ($175 for three games) or both days ($325 for five games).

For more information, contact Head Coach Willie Scott at 641-673-1019 or by email at scottw@wmpenn.edu.

The William Penn wrestling team is hosting one camp this summer.

The camp, which will be fun from June 22-24, is for children entering kindergarten through 8th grade in the WPU wrestling room. The cost of the camp is $35 and all attendees will receive a t-shirt.

For more information, contact Head Coach Eric Reed at 641-673-1117 or by email at reede@wmpenn.edu.

The William Penn cheerleading team is again hosting a camp this summer.

The camp will be held on July 23-24 at the Penn Activity Center. The first day will run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and the second will go from 8 a.m. until noon. The cost is $35 for commuters and $50 overnight campers.

For more information, contact Head Coach Lisa Conner at 641-990-0066 or by email at connerl@wmpenn.edu.

ALL CAMP INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND AT http://www.statesmenathletics.com/f/Camps.php

Last night was a thrilling doubleheader for the Oskaloosa softball team, as they looked to stay undefeated heading into tonight’s big game with Dallas Center-Grimes.

Game one was very iffy the whole time, as visiting Washington took a 2-1 lead in the third, which was the first time Oskaloosa had trailed all season long. The Indians would plate a run to tie it in the fifth, but Washington responded, plating two in the sixth and an important insurance run in the seventh to put Oskaloosa against the ropes 5-2 heading into the bottom of the 7th. The top of the Osky order was due up, and leadoff hitter Anna Jones drew her third walk of the game. Following her, Bethany Rowley lined a single off the fence in left field. That brought up pitcher Kylee Silliman, who was charged with all five earned runs in the game, but had both Indian RBI at that juncture. On the second pitch of the at-bat, Silliman hit a moon shot over the left field wall, tying the game with a three-run homer, her second of the season. After an Alexis Westercamp flyout and an Aubrey Miller walk, senior Peyton Zickefoose came to the plate, and swung at the first pitch and deposited it into the woods in left field for a walk-off home run, giving Oskaloosa the win 7-5 and moving them to 12-0 on the year.

Game two saw the Indians take control early, scoring five runs in the first two innings. They wouldn’t score again, but Alexis Groet and the defense held Washington to only two runs to get the win 5-2 to move to 13-0 on the year.

The second-ranked Indians have their biggest game of the season so far tonight, as they face #3 Dallas Center-Grimes on the road. DCG is the two-time defending state champs and they have been the premier team in the Little Hawkeye Conference since entering it a couple of years ago. That single varsity game can be heard on the Mahaska Zone Network, 99.5 FM and AM 740 KMZN and on kboeradio.com. First pitch is scheduled for 7:30 pm and our pregame show will begin around 7:15.

The Oskaloosa baseball team took care of business last night as well, trouncing visiting Mount Pleasant 14-4 in six innings of work. The Panthers scored three early runs, but the Indian offense exploded out of the gates, grabbing the lead in the bottom of the first and never looking back en route to the run-rule victory. The baseball squad is now 7-0 this season and will face Dallas Center-Grimes in a big doubleheader on the road tonight in conference play.