The Keota Eagle softball team is ready to make a regional run, starting with Monday’s opening round game against Moulton-Udell. Keota is 10-8 this season, 9-7, fifth in the South Iowa Cedar League. The Eagles dropped their finale 7-0 to Highland last time out. On the year, Keota hits .251 as a club with a .342OBP, .373slug, 92 runs, 121 hits, 73RBI, 64 walks and 113 strikeouts. Individually, three Eagles are at .300 or better, led by Jessalyn Aller at .375 with 20RBI. Elyse Lyle has 20 hits and has scored 20 times. In the circle, Aller is 12-4 in 112 innings with a .212 opponent average, 110 hits, 55 earned runs, 30 walks, 129 strikeouts, a 3.44ERA and 1.25WHIP.

Moulton-Udell is winless in 17 tries this year, finishing last in the Bluegrass Conference. They were shut out by Murray 8-0 last time on the diamond. This year, they have been outscored 224-37 in total. The Eagles hit .250 as a team with a .362OBP, .284 slug, 37 runs, 82 hits, 31RBI, 51 walks and 81 strikeouts. Individually, Rachel Ogden leads with a .342 average, Zoie Simkoff has 16 hits, Lily Jackson and Miah Burgher seven runs scored and Chloe Potter nine RBI. Claire Swartz, Burgher and Ashlyn Lasley have handled the pitching this year with a combined 13.02ERA, 3.60WHIP, .444 opponent average, 208 hits, 150 earned runs, 82 walks, and 52 strikeouts. These teams have met once in the recent past, with Moulton-Udell taking a 2019 slugfest 21-17. This week, Keota head coach Shawn Haifley talked about his team’s keys to success in the first round.

Haifley said, “We need to be a little more consistent at the plate. We tend to leave a lot of baserunners on base. We need to get those big hits when you need them. Our defense and Jessalyn (Aller) tend to feed off of each other. Then we put ourselves in a pretty good position to compete.”

You can hear all of the action live tonight from Keota High School on the free KCII3 stream at KCIIradio.com and new KCII3 app, beginning with the Eagle Playoff Pregame Show at 4:30p.m. And first pitch at five.