River Hawks Pull-Off A Softball Unicorn

By Jenny Knutsen for the Preston Times

What is a softball unicorn, you might be asking? It’s when an event takes place in a game that is extremely rare. The event? A triple play. EV took on North Linn on Wednesday, July 2nd in a double-header match-up. The softball unicorn occurred in the middle of the game with two North Linn players getting on base, then advancing to be at third and second. North Linn attempted the bunt, and it resulted in a very short pop up. Claire Roe came crashing in to make the catch (very unexpected by the Lynx as they were already in full running mode). Claire then made the throw to Rylie Gillen at 3rd then Rylie made the throw to Bridgette Moeller at 2nd. Triple play and a softball unicorn!

The River Hawks dropped both games to the Lynx, but the crowd definitely saw a great night of entertainment. Amber Hartung led EV in the first game with two hits, Sophia Roe and Kendyl Driscoll each had one a piece. Ada Johnson, Sophia and Amber each had one stolen base. Claire Roe finished with two strike-outs, and the entire team played tough defense. The second game with the Lynx saw a little more offense from the River Hawks. Rylie, Elise Knutsen, Claire, and Ada each had a hit. Rylie’s hit was a double. Rylie, Elise, and Claire each earned RBI’s on their hits. Rylie and Kedley Holdgrafer each had a stolen base, while Ada contributed with two. Rylie and Ada pitched the second game. Rylie had a strikeout to help the cause.

The day before the River Hawks had dropped two games to East Buchanan. Kendyl led the team in the first game with two hits, Elise contributed one and stole one base. Claire struck out four batters. In the second game, Claire led with two hits, a double and a single, and Ada had a single. Elise and Ada had two stolen bases each. Claire had seven strike outs in this game and was putting on a pitching clinic, but this very young River Hawk team struggled to get a consistent offense going.

On Monday, the 30th of June, EV took on Central City. Yes, three days of double-headers! In the first game Kendyl and Kedley led with two hits each. One of Kedley’s hits was a double. Rylie, Elise, Ada, Bridgette and Amber contributed with a hit each. Claire had four strike outs for the game. Rylie, Ada, and Amber each had one stolen base, and once again the River Hawk defense went to work but it wasn’t enough to get the win. In the second game Rylie, Elise, Claire, Kendyl, and Amber led with a hit each. Rylie stole one base while Elise was able to take two. Ada started out pitching but because of a prior injury came out early and Claire took over. Claire finished with 6 strike outs in this game, as she once again had a good night on the mound, but the River Hawks came up short in the end.

The River Hawks take on Cal/Wheat on Monday, the 7th in their first round of regional play. The game will be played at Calamus and will begin at 7pm. Tickets can be purchased online by going to the Iowa Girls Athletic Union website. Hope to see you there!