The Mid-Prairie Golden Hawk girls softball team put their brooms to work Thursday at Carr, Vincent, Gould Field in Kalona, sweeping the weekly River Valley Conference series from the West Branch Bears with a 12-4 win in five innings. The Hawks won at West Branch Monday 12-3. More recently, the Bears scored once in the first, and the Hawks matched it. Mid-Prairie scored twice in the third, and the Bears matched it in the fourth, to tie things at three. That’s when Mid-Prairie hit another gear, sending 11 hitters to the plate in a seven-run fourth, highlighted by a Claire Trimpe three run homer, and they wouldn’t look back again. West Branch got one in the fifth to get within 11-4, but the Hawks ended it early, and lone senior Kyla Karnes had the honors, driving a base hit to the outfield to plate the winning run. The Hawks out hit the Bears 15-3 and had three extra base hits. All nine Golden Hawks in the order had a hit, eight of the nine drove in a run, and seven of the nine scored. Trimpe had a three hit night, including her home run with three RBI. Kadence Grout, Karnes and Sophia Puttman had two hits each. Grout drove in a pair. Alena Snider was the winner in the circle, throwing five innings, allowing three hits, two earned runs and striking out two, along with several dazzling defensive plays. Live on the postgame show Snider, Trimpe and Karnes talked with KCII Sports about the win.
Karnes said, “It was about just hitting the ball. Seeing the ball from a slower pitcher tonight and waiting back. (During our rally) we got more and more excited and kept hitting the ball. (On the game-winning hit) As soon as I hit it, I knew it felt good! It felt like a line-drive and I knew we were going to get runs in.”
Snider continued, “Just moving the ball around the zone tonight made it harder for them to hit the ball and square it up. I had great fielding behind me, so that made my game even better. (On her diving defensive play) I knew I had to get an out, so I was just really focused on stopping the ball and throwing it. I was on my knees but I still managed to get the throw off which was great.”
Trimpe added, “(In her home run at bat) I was just thinking be really aggressive and swing as hard as I can. I knew (when I hit it) that it was in the outfield at least. Then I saw the outfielder right by the fence and then I heard Kent’s sirens going and I just felt so good! My teammates were right there at the plate cheering me on. It was such a good feeling!”
Mid-Prairie is now 3-1 on the season at 2-0 in the River Valley as West Branch falls to 1-4. The Golden Hawks are next in action tonight at Burlington.