Riverside loss sends Raiderettes home
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.
The 2025 softball season has come to an end for the Mount Ayr Raiderette softball team.
That comes after a 6-0 loss at Class 1A No. 5 Riverside out of the Western Iowa Conference.
The Raiderettes advanced to the Regional semifinal game in Class 1A Region 6 with earlier round wins over Essex and Bedford. The Bulldogs advanced to the game with Mount Ayr with a postseason win over Lamoni.
The Bulldogs will host Stanton on Monday, July 14 with the winner advancing to the 2025 Class 1A state tournament next week in Fort Dodge.
The Bulldogs improved to 23-3 on the year while Mount Ayr ends the season 11-10. Riverside scored two runs in the second inning to take a 2-0 lead. Two more runs scored in the third for a 4-0 lead and Riverside put the game away with two runs in the fourth inning to secure a 6-0 lead.
Riverside had seven hits in the game with two players getting multi-hit games. Adaline Martens and Madison Kelley, two of the top-3 batters in the batting order, each had a pair of hits. Kelley had a home run and 2 RBI’s and Martens had a double and RBI. Freshman Peyton Schafer pitched a no-hitter in the game and faced 22 batters. She struck out four and had two walks.
Mount Ayr avoided a perfect game by Schafer after walks to Keely Wasteney and Dannie Stewart.
Kensie Barnes took the loss after working three and two-thirds innings. She gave up six runs on six hits. Keeley Wasteney pitched two and a third innings in relief. She did not give up a hit, run or walk in those innings.
Dominant win for Raiderettes
The Mount Ayr softball team advanced along tournament play with a 10-0 win over Bedford to move within two games from the 2025 state softball tournament. The win was the 11th for Mount Ayr with nine losses. Bedford ended the season with an 11-7 record. The win was the third straight for Mount Ayr and fourth in their last six games. Bedford came into the game having lost two of their last three with their only win a 16-14 win over Stanton on July 1.
The two teams met on June 25 with Mount Ayr winning 7-2. The Raiderettes had won 32 of the last 33 meetings between the schools coming into the Class 1A Regional game.
Mount Ayr scored all ten runs in the first two innings of the game. Mount Ayr took control of the game in the top of the first inning, dropping 6 runs on the Bulldogs to take a 6-0 lead before Bedford had even batted.
The Raiderettes plated four more runs in the second inning to take a 10-0 lead. The game would end after the fourth inning due to the 10-run mercy rule.
Mount Ayr junior Kensie Barnes spun a gem of a game and got the pitching win. Barnes gave up just one-hit while facing 14 batters in the game. She only walked one Bedford batter.
Mount Ayr had seven hits in the game with a pair of players collecting a multi-hit game. Tarynn Dredge was 2-for-2 with an RBI and run scored and Jalyn Akers was 2-for-3 with a single, triple and 5 RBI’s. Other hits came from Tatum Friedrich, Dannie Stewart, and Breya Nickle. Other players with RBI’s were from Friedrich, Stewart, MaKel Jones, and Nickle. Jones, Emma Reynolds, and Dredge each reached base via walks.
Bedford had only one-hit in the game, a single by Charlotte Shafer. Kinley Beemer also reached base via a walk. Macy Musich took the loss after four innings.
Raiderettes postseason start yields win
The Mount Ayr softball team began their postseason run on July 7 at home when they hosted Essex out of the Corner Conference. The result was a win going away, 12-4 as Mount Ayr advanced to the next round of the Class 1A Region 6 tournament. The Raiders won their 10th game of the season while Essex ended the year 2-18.
Essex tried to pull off the upset, scoring four times in the first inning to take a 4-0 lead. Mount Ayr would rally to score 12 unanswered runs to win 12-4 in six innings.
Mount Ayr answered the four runs in the top of the first inning with three in the bottom of the first inning to trail 4-3.
That score would stay until the Raiderettes took the lead for good in the bottom of the third with two runs to take a 5-4 lead.
Mount Ayr took control of the game in the fifth, scoring three runs to get the score to 8-4 and Mount Ayr put the game away with four runs in the bottom of the sixth to get the score to 12-4.
Keeley Wasteney and Kensie Barnes combined to pitch in the game with Barnes getting the win after working four innings. Barnes struck out seven, walked five and gave up four runs on two hits. Wasteney pitched the final two innings in relief and had three strikeouts.
Mount Ayr had 12 hits in the game. Breya Nickle, Dannie Stewert, and Tarynn Dredge led with three hits each while Tatum Friedrich, Adalynn Dredge each had two hits.
Tarynn Dredge drove in three runs while Adalynn Dredge had two RBI’s. Emma Reynolds was on base three times with three walks.
Essex had four hits in the game by four different players, Alia Valdez, Kylie Valdez, Mariska Kinchert, and Ryann Welchans. Kinchert had a triple and 3 RBI’s.
Ella Sandahl took the loss after five and two-thirds innings of work. She struck out three, walked six and gave up 12 runs on 12 hits.
