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Warriors continue strong start, move to 7-1
Win both games in home triangular Saturday
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
VICTOR — Coming off a second-place finish in the South Iowa Cedar League last season, the HLV-TC softball team looks primed to be a top team in the conference again this season.
The Warriors moved to 7-1 after 13-0 and 13-5 wins over Baxter and Hillcrest Academy Saturday.
But you won’t find complacency in the Warriors after a strong start to the season.
“There’s still some things we need to clean up and are working through,” HLV-TC coach Grace Parrott said. “We have quite a few players we moved around this year.
“A lot has changed and everybody has stepped up well.”
Those changes include starting eighth grader Bryndal Jack in center field, starting freshman Abbi Tharp at catcher and naming a new primary pitcher.
Lilly Randall has stepped into that role now and pitched the second game Saturday against Hillcrest Academy.
“It’s definitely a challenge coming from only pitching then and there,” Randall said. “But I think I’ve started to overcome it. It does get difficult at times because I’m not used to it.”
Randall said that pitching in the off-season a couple times a week has helped the transition.
“Lily has really stepped up and done a good job for us.” said Parrott. “She throws a good speed and knows she has the girls behind her.”
Pitching the first game against Baxter was another new pitcher, freshman Ella Van Thournout.
Four seniors are on the Warriors’ roster, and they just so happen to bat 1-2-3-4 in the lineup, providing the team with plenty of speed and hitting ability out the gates, which was on display Saturday.
They also make up 80% of the Warriors’ infield (Randall plays third when not pitching).
“It’s definitely fun to all be so close together,” Randall said on this year’s seniors. “We understand each other when we’re playing together, and we know each other’s abilities.
“We know we need to lift the younger girls up when needed.”
A value can’t be put on playing experience, which the group of seniors, Ayla Hall, Ema Roberts, Raegen Molyneux and Randall, bring plenty of.
“They’ve played a lot of ball, so they have a lot of knowledge,” Parrott said. “When something goes not the way they want, they know how to fix it.“
In the win over Baxter, eight different players knocked in runs for the team’s total nine RBIs.
Erilea Kupka hit a two-RBI double in the second inning. Roberts and Molyneux also had RBI doubles in the game, which ended after four innings due to the run rule.
The Warriors head into a five-game week with their lone loss on the season, coming by one run.
“We were definitely a little nervous,” Randall said on the start of the season. “We didn’t know how it was going to go, but after the first couple games, we’re more confident.”
