The Iowa Lakes Community College Softball team came out firing in game one of their double header. They took down Mott Community College 19-3 in five innings, before dropping game two 7-5 to Lincoln Land Community College. The Lakers are 6-6 overall for the season.
GAME 1: 19 (ILCC), 3 (MCC) 5 innings
Iowa Lakes was back to try and avenge their loss to Mott Community College in game one. The Bears were able to get on the board first, scoring two runs in the top of the first on three singles and two walks. The Lakers quickly got their offense in their half of the inning, putting up eight runs. Kaitlyn DuChateau led off the inning with a walk and advanced to third on a double off the bat of Marrissa Miller. Macy Pickett then singled on a ground ball to the shortstop, and some aggressive baserunning by Miller tied the ball game at 2-2. Alexis Cullinane followed with a single of her own before Bailey Smith was hit by her eleventh pitch of the season to load the bases. With Karlee Akers at the plate, the Bears watched her line a ball over the left field fence for a grand slam and the 6-2 Laker lead. Iowa Lakes was not done yet. Brooklyn Bode followed with a walk and advanced to third on a ground ball to right from Korilynn Christians. With runners at first and third, the Lakers stole second. The play on Christians at second allowed Bode to scamper across home plate, and the play on Bode allowed Christians to advance to third. DuChateau then stepped in for her second plate appearance of the inning and executed a sacrifice fly to score Christians and give the Lakers an 8-2 lead.
Mott led off the second inning with a single. Two straight groundouts to Larson and Smith put a runner at third with two outs. A dropped third strike that got past the catcher allowed the lone run to score. Iowa Lakes quickly loaded the bases with a leadoff walk to Larson and back-to-back hit-by pitches for Smith and Akers. Christians singled up the middle to score both Larson and Smith. A passed ball allowed Bode and Christians to both advance into scoring position, before DuChateau singled to score both runners. A Mott error in left allowed DuChateau to score on her ball to left. Miller kept the offense going with a double to right center. A single off the bat of Pickett gave the Lakers a 15-3 lead. This was followed by a Larson single and a Mott error off the bat of Smith to score Pickett. Singles from Akers, Christians, and DuChateau completed the scoring for the game. Giving the Lakers a 19-3 five-inning victory.
Taylor Larson picked up her second win in twenty-four hours. She pitched five innings, allowing three runs, two earned, on seven hits. Larson walked three and struck out one. At the plate, the Lakers combined for fourteen hits in the game. Korilynn Christians and Macy Pickett each were 3-3 with three runs batted in and two runs scored. Karlee Akers and Kaitlyn DuChateau both had multi-hit games and drove in four runs.
GAME 2: 7 (LLCC), 5 (ILCC)
The top of the first inning was a slow start for the Lakers, with a hit-by-pitch and three consecutive outs. Macy Pickett would start in the circle for the Lakers, forcing a Logger pop-out for out number one. The next batter would hit a double, putting themselves in scoring position. A two-run home run would allow the Loggers to take the lead 2-0, but they would score no more in their half.
Bailey Smith would see her 13th hit-by-pitch of the season to lead off the top of the second, and a Logger error would allow Korilynn Christians to advance Smith to second while reaching first herself. The two would be left on base to finish their half of the inning. Pickett would allow one hit in the bottom of the second and no runs.
The Laker's fight would come in the top of the third, with a one-out double from Marrissa Miller. Miller would steal third before being brought home on a Pickett single, who would advance to second on a Logger error. Alexis Cullinane would move Pickett to third on a grounder to the right side, and a two-out error on a Smith pop-fly would allow Pickett to score, tying the game up at two. Lincoln Land would come back with fire in the bottom of the third, scoring four runs on two singles, a walk, and two Laker errors.
Christians would double as the leadoff in the fourth, but two consecutive outs would leave her at second. Kaitlyn DuChateau would come up big with a single to left, allowing Christians to score and DuChateau to reach second on a throw. Miller would drive DuChateau in with a two-out single to left, reaching second on the attempted throw to home. Pickett would finish the scoring for the Lakers with a double to left field, scoring Miller. This would bring the Laker's deficit to one run, with the score being 5-6. Kassidy Elkins would come in to throw in the bottom of the fourth for the Lakers, allowing two hits and no runs to score.
The top of the fifth would see a Karlee Akers double but no score as Akers was stranded on second. Lincoln Land would score their final run of the game on a single, walk, and sac fly. Inning six was uneventful for both teams, as the only runner would come from a Logger walk.
The Lakers were unable to complete their comeback, as the three batters up in the top of the seventh would be shut down by Lincoln Land's pitching who struck out two. Pickett would suffer the loss for the Lakers, throwing 3.0 innings and allowing three earned runs on five hits and a walk.
The Lakers will get a day off before continuing their spring break trip. They will play Mid Michigan College at 9:00 AM (EST) and SUNY Adirondack at 11:15 AM (EST) on March 9th.