WMU tops Hillcrest in regular season finale

KALONA — Winfield and Hillcrest Academy softball each ended the regular season against one another on Tuesday night.

With postseason play beginning on Friday, it was the Wolves ending the season on a high note with a 11-7 victory over the Ravens.

Winfield wasted no time getting on the board in the Super Conference clash.

WMU’s Jobey Malone and Makiah Lower gave the Wolves a 2-0 lead with a pair of RBI singles that scored Josie Nelson and Anna Anderson.

After shutting out the Ravens in the bottom half of the inning, Winfield didn’t slow in the second.

Carlee Sloan got the Wolves started with a lead off double. A bunt by Quin Smith, followed by a Keely Malone RBI single made it 3-0. Five more Wolves made their way to the plate and by the end of the inning WMU held a 6-0 lead. Lower, Malone and Melina Oepping ended the inning with three straight RBI singles.

Following another scoreless bottom inning, Hillcrest put runs on the board in the bottom half of the third to cut the WMU lead to 6-2.

Despite gaining momentum, Winfield was quick to cut it out as it scored another quartet of runs in the fourth to make it 10-2.

The Wolves added one more in the fifth with Sloan drawing a walk with the bases loaded to make it 11-2.

Hillcrest Academy went scoreless through both the fifth and sixth, marking the fifth scoreless inning of the game for the Ravens, but they found a spark in the seventh.

Evelyn Gerber got the Ravens started with a lead of single. After a walk by Esther Hughes and an fielders choice, Grace Miller delivered with an RBI single to make it 11-3. Malia Yoder then blasted an two RBI single up the middle, followed by a Delaney Shaw RBI single and a past ball. A nine run WMU lead was cut to four, 11-7, in a matter of minutes.

Although the Ravens were able to make a big cut into the lead, the Wolves were able to hang on for the win.

“It’s a good win,” Winfield-Mt. Union head coach Scott McCarty said. “It’s a good feeling winning your last regular season game. We made a lot of good plays and there were a lot of good moments.”

Gerber and Malia Yoder both ended with a trio of hits for the Ravens. Shaw and Hughes each finished with two hits. Miller, Leah Bontrager, Morgyn Nafziger and Norah Yoder each had one hit. Malia Yoder and Bontrager had a pair of RBIs as well. Shaw and Miller each had an RBI as well.

Bontrager threw for the Ravens, giving up 11 runs on 16 hits, five walks and five strikeouts.