Iowa Wesleyan softball on a roll

MT. PLEASANT — The Iowa Wesleyan softball team came into its biggest weekend of the season needing a strong performance in the Continental Athletic Conference Classic, and the Tigers played rock solid for four-straight games.

Iowa Wesleyan went 4-0 against conference opponents in the two day event, held at Mapleleaf Athletic Complex.

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Iowa Wesleyan beat Haskell Indian Nations University 10-3 in Game 1 on Friday. The Tigers later ran over Arkansas Baptist College, 9-1.

On Saturday, Iowa Wesleyan scored a two-game sweep against Crowley’s Ridge College. The Tigers won Game 1, 8-5, and Game 2, 4-2.

Iowa Wesleyan scored the first seven runs of the day against Haskell on Friday. The Tigers put up two goals in the first inning, three in the third and two in the fourth.

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Haskell battled back by scoring three runs in the top of the fifth, but Iowa Wesleyan answered right back with three of their own in the bottom of the inning.

Aspyn Harrison went 4-for-4 with a double and an RBI in the win. Ivy Geerdes was 3-for-3 with two RBIs. Kara Krieger went 2-for-2 with a triple, two RBIs and a team-high three runs scored.

H Molter won the game for the Tigers in the circle. She pitched five innings and gave up three earned runs on five hits and two walks, while striking out six batters.

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Iowa Wesleyan scored early against Arkansas Baptist. The Tigers put up four runs in the first inning to lead 4-0 after one frame.

Arkansas Baptist put up one run in the second inning, but wouldn’t score again. Iowa Wesleyan added five in the fourth to put it on ice.

Jordan Lantz went 2-for-2 with a double and two RBIs in the win. Geerdes went 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

Harrison threw five innings against Arkansas Baptist. She gave up one earned run on five hits and two walks, while striking out six.

Saturday’s opener wasn’t looking so hot for the Tiger early on. Crowley’s Ridge batted through the order in the first inning and scored four runs to take an early 4-0 lead.

The Tigers stayed down 4-0 until Krieger’s two-run double in the bottom of the third. Iowa Wesleyan added one on an A Davis solo homer in the fourth to cut it to 4-3.

Crowley’s Ridge scored one run in the top of the fifth, but the Iowa Wesleyan bats continued to rattle in the fifth.

Lantz brought Iowa Wesleyan back down to one run with an RBI double. Geerdes then put Iowa Wesleyan in the lead with a two-run double, and Nicole Sherrill added one run on an RBI single.

Harrison scored one more run for the Tigers in the bottom of the sixth, cashing in on a sacrifice fly to stretch the lead to 8-5.

Krieger went 2-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs in the win. Geerdes went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.

Harrison threw a complete game to beat Crowley’s Ridge. She gave up five earned runs on 10 hits and one walk, while striking out four batters.

The Tigers rallied back from a 1-0 deficit in the final game of the weekend. Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth, Iowa Wesleyan put together three RBI hits. Gracie Jevyak tied it up with an RBI double. Kelsey Topliff followed with another, and Kylie Topliff scored her on an RBI single.

Kylie Topliff scored one on an RBI ground out in the sixth to bring the scored to 4-1. Crowley’s Ridge scored just once more, on a ground out in the seventh.

Jevyak went 3-for-3 with an RBI double to lead the Tigers offensively in the victory.

Ariana Wolfard pitched 6.1 innings in the win, giving up two earned runs on nine hits, while striking out two batters. Jordan Morthland came in to earn the save, recording the last two outs.

Iowa Wesleyan has now won five games in a row. The Tigers sit at 13-20 overall and 4-0 in CAC play, the only team in the conference without a loss.

Iowa Wesleyan will be on the road on Tuesday to play a doubleheader against Waldorf University.