By Sam Parsons
The Oskaloosa Indians entered Monday night’s doubleheader versus conference rival Pella Christian looking to get their record back up to .500 after last week saw them go 0-4 against some stiff competition. The Indians got what they were hoping for, as they delivered back to back strong team efforts against the Eagles.
Game 1 of the doubleheader featured starts in the circle from Shannon Van Rheenen for the Indians and Laurel Rozeboom for the Eagles. The game began as a back and forth duel between the two: only one combined run scored in the first 3.5 innings of the game (Haylee Parker scored from 3rd base on a wild pitch in the bottom of the 1st inning). In the bottom of the 4th inning, however, the Indian bats came alive: a walk drawn by Van Rheenen kick-started an 8 run rally that saw the Indians rack up 5 base hits including doubles from Cylee Smith and Hailey Harbour. By the end of the 4th, it was 9-0 Oskaloosa, and from there, the Indians cruised to victory, as a few runs from the Eagles turned out to be too little, too late. The Indians won the opener 10-5.
The nightcap started even more auspiciously for Osky. This time, Smith got the start at pitcher, but the highlight of the game was the offense for the Indians: Osky racked up 7 runs in the first two innings and in less than 4 full innings of play, the team combined for 11 hits. Smith helped her own cause with a 2-run home run in the bottom of the 2nd inning as part of a 2-3 night. Shannon Van Rheenen and Kassie Johnson both reached base on all of their plate appearances, as Johnson went 2-2 with 2 walks, 3 runs scored, and 2 RBIs, while Van Rheenen went 3-3 with 3 RBI. Game 2 was never in question: the Indians mercy-ruled the Eagles with a 14-2 victory after 4 innings.
The two victories improved the Indians’ record to 5-5. It was the start of a busy week for the Oskaloosa softball team: they will host Albia tonight (Tuesday), followed by a road trip to Pella on Wednesday, and then they’ll have another doubleheader at Newton on Thursday. The Newton doubleheader will be broadcast on KBOE 104.9 FM and kboeradio.com.
