IW softball gets first win

COLUMBIA, Mo. — The Iowa Wesleyan softball team got its first win on Tuesday as they won one of two in a doubleheader against the Stephens College Stars.

The Tigers were winners 13-4 in game one, while they came up short 6-4 in the second.

In game one of the doubleheader, Haiden Molter started in the circle for the Tigers.

It didn't take long for the Tigers to get on the board in the opening bout.

Aspyn Harrison doubled in the top of 1st inning and scored Grace Jevyak, who doubled moments prior, putting the Tigers ahead 1-0 in the game.

In the bottom of the 2nd inning, the Stars hit a leadoff home run off the bat of Ellie Kliethermes to tie the game at 1-1.

In the top of the 4th inning, the Tigers would strike again.

Alexis Davis doubled, moving Ivy Geerdes to third and scoring Jevyak for her second run of the game. Moments later, Geerdes scored on a passed ball to give the Tigers a 3-1 advantage over the Stars.

In the bottom of the 5th, the Stars would tie the game back up off the bats of Anabel and Avery Throckmorton who tripled and doubled to make the score 3-3.

The top of the 6th inning would prove to be a crucial inning for the Tigers. They rallied and scored five runs on three hits and took advantage of two Stars' errors. Nicole Shirrell, Kara Krieger, and Kelsey Topliff all had RBIs and the score was now 8-3 in favor of the Tigers.

In the bottom of the 6th inning, the Stars would cut into the deficit with a double off the bat of Mia Adriano, who scored Gillian Hale to make the score 8-4.

The Tigers would add to their lead in the top of the 7th with five runs on two hits, extending their lead to 13-4. The Stars were unable to gain any momentum in the bottom of the 7th inning, giving the Tigers their first win of the season.

Molter received the win for the Tigers after pitching 3.1 innings and giving up one run on three hits while striking out three Stars' batters. Aspyn Harrison and Julia Hill both had two hits to lead the Tigers' offense.

In game two, the nod in the circle went to Jordan Morthland for the Tigers.

The Tigers immediately got some run support for Morthland as they were able to scratch across four runs in the top of the 1st inning.

The game started with an inside-the-park home run coming off the bat of Kara Krieger. After two Tigers walked, Aspyn Harrison hit a triple down the left field line to score Jordan Lantz and Gracie Jevyak.

Later in the inning, Adrianna Jarrett hit a hard ball to the third baseman that caused an error, and Harrison was able to score to make the score 4-0 in favor of the Tigers.

The game would turn into a defensive battle until the bottom of the 4th inning when the Stars were able to bring three runs across the plate.

Lindsey Picha picked up two RBIs with a hard hit ball that the Tiger infield was unable to corral and Mia Adriano picked up one RBI scoring Picha on a triple to make the score 4-3.

In the bottom of the 5th inning, the Stars struck three more runs across the plate. Avery Throckmorton flew out to score Lyndsey Hood. Later, Elise Kendrick hit a double to score Ellie Kliethermes. Mariah Thibodeau scored Kendrick to give the Stars a 6-4 lead over the Tigers.

Iowa Wesleyan couldn’t make up the deficit.

Jordan Morthland was registered with the loss in the game, throwing 4.2 innings and giving up six runs on six hits, and two walks while striking out three Stars' batters. Kara Krieger led the Tigers with two hits, including an inside-the-park home run.

Iowa Wesleyan softball will be back in action on Sunday, March 5 against the Malone College Pioneers at 1 p.m. in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

The Tigers will take on a variety of teams on March 5-11 during their spring break in South Carolina.