Softball roundup: No. 5 Cardinal stays red-hot

Cardinal grabbed its fourth straight win on Monday with a victory over Fairfield.

The Comets are one of the best teams in the state and continue to be red-hot after down No. 2 Wayne last week.

After three innings of action on Monday, the Trojans and Comets were tied at 1-1, but Cardinal went on to score three runs between the fourth and fifth inning.

Fairfield added one more of its own in the sixth, but that’s all they could get.

Faith Jones, Olivia Hollander, Laney Norris and Emma Septer each had a hit in the loss for Fairfield. Norris had the Trojans lone RBI.

Hillcrest Academy (11-12) 14, Columbus (6-21) 7

Hillcrest Academy and Columbus were tight through three innings on Monday night, but the Ravens scored runs in each of the final four innings to pull away.

The Ravens and Wildcats traded four runs between the first and second inning in their Southeast Iowa Super Conference North clash.

After a scoreless third, the Ravens added another four in the fourth to make it 8-4. Hillcrest Academy scored one in the fifth, followed by three for Columbus in the bottom of the inning making it 9-7, but that’s as close as the game would come.

The Ravens added two in the sixth and three in the seventh to put a stamp on it.

Malia Yoder led the Ravens, going 5-for-5 with three RBIs. Kylee Statler, Morgyn Nafziger, Delaney Shaw and Erin Bontrager each had two hits.

For Columbus, Ellie Sanders, Daniela Diaz and Kennedy Woepking all had two hits. Sanders and Aracely Garza had two RBIs as well.

Van Buren County (14-10) 10, Danville (3-20) 2

Van Buren County had no problem with Danville on Monday night.

The Warriors score in all but one inning to put the Bears away. VBC led 6-1 after the third inning and 8-1 after the fifth.

Lexie Wiley led the Warriors with three hits. Addison Brauns and Kaylee Snowgren each had two hits. Brauns and Callie Kracht each had two RBIs.

Highland (17-8) 6, Lone Tree (12-12) 3

Highland was able to hold off Lone Tree on Monday for yet another SEISC North victory.

The Huskies scored four runs in the second and two more in the fourth to build a 6-0 lead. Lone Tree battled, scoring three runs of their own in the fifth, but that’s all they could bring home.

Sarah Burton led the Huskies with two hits, including a home run, and four RBIs. Payton Brun finished with two hits as well as Kamryn Fink. Brun and Fink finished with an RBI a piece.

Hillcrest Academy (12-12), Pekin (4-21) 9

Hillcrest Academy and Pekin battled it out in a back and forth affair on Tuesday night.

The two teams combined for 16 runs in the first two innings, as the Ravens led 10-6 heading into the third. Hillcrest put three more runs on the board to make it 13-6. Pekin added three of their own, but the Ravens pulled out the win.

Morgyn Nafziger had three RBIs for the Ravens. Claire Withrow and Erin Bontrager finished with two hits.

West Burlington Notre Dame (20-5) 7, Van Buren County (13-10) 6

Van Buren County came up just short against West Burlington Notre Dame on Monday.

The Warriors held a 6-4 lead after four innings of action, but the Falcons scored three in the fifth and that was enough to win it.

Ashlynn Huff and Callie Kracht had two hits for VBC. Ali Pedretti had a team high three RBIs.

Wapello (16-13) 11, Pekin (4-20) 1

Pekin had a rough matchup against Wapello on Monday. The Arrows scored two runs or more in each of the five innings to end it.

The Panther’s lone run came in the fourth inning, but they trailed 7-1 by that time.

Carlie Gambell, Alex Parsons, Myah Bainbridge and Katelynn Schultz each had hits for Pekin. Ezra Parsons had the single RBI.

No. 11 Louisa-Muscatine (29-3) 12, WACO (0-16) 0

WACO suffered a shutout defeat to Louisa-Muscatine on Monday.

The Warriors finished with just one hit, coming from Natalie Wagler.