Raiderettes move into 4th in POI standings

By Editor | June 26, 2024 |

Close plays were in abundance in Mount Ayr softball action last week. PHOTO BY DARLA SOBOTKA.

The Mount Ayr Raiderette softball team picked up a big win at Nodaway Valley last Friday to end their week of POI games. That 6-3 win created separation in the middle of the POI jumble between Mount Ayr, Bedford, Lenox, and Nodaway Valley.

All four are within two games of each other in the standings, but the Mount Ayr win set the Raiderettes in fourth place all by themselves.
The top-3 teams – Martensdale-St. Mary’s, SE Warren, and Wayne – are ranked in the top-7 in Class 1A.

The Raiderettes played two of those schools in a three-game POI week last week. The Raiderette’s record heading into this week is 7-10 overall and 7-5 in the POI.
The Raiderettes traveled to Greenfield on Friday, June 21 for their second game against the Wolverines this year. The first meeting earlier this month in Mount Ayr was an 8-7 win for the Raiderettes in eight innings.
In Greenfield, the Raiderettes took a 6-3 win to win their 15th straight game over the Wolverines going back to the 2018 season.

Mount Ayr started the game slow with the first six batters in the order getting out. In the top of the third Mount Ayr would score twice to take a 2-0 lead after three innings.
In the fourth, the Raiderettes added a third run on a Wolverine error for a 3-0 lead. Mount Ayr would put the game away in the top of the fifth inning.
Leading 3-1, the Raiderettes nearly batted around, sending eight batters to the plate and putting three more runs on the scoreboard for a 6-1 lead.
In the inning, Mount Ayr got RBI singles from Dannie Stewart and MaKel Jones.
The Wolverines would try to rally in the seventh, scoring two runs to get the score to 6-3. Nodaway Valley had the winning run at the plate, but could not get closer than the final score.

Kensie Barnes was the winning pitcher in seven innings. Barnes struck out 11 and walked eight in the game. She faced 36 batters and gave up three runs, but only one earned run.
Mount Ayr had six hits in the game by six different players. Kynlee Still, Dannie Stewart, and MaKel Jones all had hits and an RBI in the game. Other hits were from Tatum Friedrich, Keely Wasteney, and Kensie Barnes.
Jorja Holliday was the losing pitcher after seven innings. She struck out 11 batters and did not walk anyone. She gave up six runs, three earned on six hits. She faced 31 batters in the game. The Wolverines were led at the plate by Caroline Britten who was 2-for-3 with a RBI. Holliday also had a double and drove in two runs.
The Raiderettes played two Class 1A top-10 teams, falling in both games in one-sided contests.

The first game was against 1A No. 7 SE Warren on June 18 in the first of three games last week. There, the Warhawks beat Mount Ayr 9-0. The win was the fifth straight over Mount Ayr for SE Warren.
The Warhawks scored runs in three innings in the game and that started in the top of the first with three runs. The Warhawks extended their lead to 4-0 with a run in the third. That score would stay until the top of the seventh when the Warhawks would plate five runs to set the score at 9-0.
Mount Ayr struggled to get on base against SE Warren pitcher Kaylyn Holmes. Holmes pitched a one-hit shutout and struck out 17 Mount Ayr batters.
Breya Nickle had the only hit, a single. Kynlee Still also reached base in the game via a walk.

Kensie Barnes took the loss after working seven innings. Barnes struck out three, walked six, and gave up nine runs on ten hits. She faced 41 batters in the 7-inning game. Three Warhawks had multi-hit games led by Jaycee Neer who was 3-for-4 with 3 RBI’s.
Two nights later, the Raiderettes traveled to Martensdale-St. Mary’s, the top-ranked Class 1A team. There, the Blue Devils won the game 10-0 in five innings. MTSM scored three runs in the first, three in the second, two in the fourth, and two in the fifth.
Campbell German shut the Raiderette offense down, spinning a no-hitter in the game in five innings. German struck out eleven and walked one batter to just miss a perfect game.
Breya Nickle was the only Mount Ayr player to reach base via a walk. Kensie Barnes took the loss after working four innings and giving up eight runs on ten hits. She struck out three and walked one batter. She faced 25 batters. Keeley Wasteney pitched the fifth inning and gave up two runs on one hit. She had two strikeouts and one walk.
MTSM had 13 hits with four players with multi-hit games. Brynnly German was 3-for-4 with two doubles, two runs scored, and 4 RBI’s.

The Raiderettes hosted Moravia on Monday night in their last non-conference game this season. The last regular season game will be on Monday, July 1 at home against Central Decatur.

Pride of Iowa Conference Softball Standings
As of Sunday, June 23

Team POI Overall
Martensdale-St. Mary’s 11-1 20-4
Wayne 9-1 18-2
SE Warren 9-2 17-2
Mount Ayr 7-5 7-10
Bedford 6-7 7-10
Lenox 6-6 10-16
Nodaway Valley-OM 5-5 7-9
Central Decatur 2-8 5-12
SW Valley 1-10 3-15
East Union 1-12 4-18