RedTail Softball Season Comes to a Close
The RedTail Softball Team's season came to an end at the Region XI-A Tournament on May 3rd. The RedTails faced #5 seeded Iowa Lakes Community College and came up just short, losing 6-5.
The RedTails started off strong in the first inning, putting runs up on the board early. Mya Chamberlin doubled and scored when Lizzy Hamand doubled. Jordan Eads put a ball in play to advance Hamand to third, who crossed home plate when Courtney Hemsley hit a single. Delaney Eickert drew a walk, and Ceyaira Barron hit a double to score Hemsley, giving the RedTails a 3-0 early lead.
In the bottom of the second, Iowa Lakes put their first run across the board. A Laker singled but was thrown out by Barron trying to steal second. The next two Lakers each had hits to score one run.
Not to be outdone, the RedTails came back in the third inning to score more. Hamand singled and advanced to third on a Hemsley double. Barron then had her second hit of the game to score Hamand and Hemsley.
The Lakers added two one more run in the bottom of the fourth inning, making the score 5-2 in favor of Hawkeye.
A two run homerun for Iowa Lakes made the score within one in the bottom of the fifth inning.
The RedTails gave up the final two runs in the fifth. The Lakers put the ball in play and two close infield singles didn't go in favor of the RedTails, allowing for the Lakers to take the lead 6-5.
Hawkeye ran out of outs in the top of the seventh, ending the game 6-5.
At the plate, Hemsley led going 3-4 with two runs scored, one run batted in, and one double. Hamand added two hits of her own, scoring two runs, and had one run batted in. On the mound, Sienknecht took the loss, going 1.2 innings, giving up three hits, two runs, one earned, and one walk. Chamberlin threw 4.1 innings, giving up eight hits, four runs, three earned, and two strikeouts.
"I am proud of the fight the girls showed this tournament. They competed with the top seed in the tournament and just fell short. We came back today and played our hearts out. This team showed grit and perseverance, and it just didn't go our way at the end of the day. I couldn't be prouder of the team and how they continued to grow this season," commented Head Coach Courtney Calkins.
