Le Mars suffered a doubleheader loss at the hands of the number 14 ranked Bishop Heelan Crusaders last night by final scores of 10-3 and 4-0.
Le Mars was able to draw first blood in game 1 by scoring on a bases loaded walk from Sarah Brown to take the first lead 1-0. In the top of the third, the Crusaders had an answer with a three-run half inning with two runs coming off a two-run base hit from Ella Fitzpatrick. Le Mars responded with a run in the bottom of the fourth. That made it 3-2 entering the top of the fifth with the Crusaders pulling away by scoring five runs in that half of the inning. The Bulldogs plated one more run and the Crusaders scored two more to finish the game 10-3.
In game 2, the Bulldogs had some trouble on defense and allowed three unearned runs to cross the plate after two innings. The Bulldog bats tried to get things going in the bottom of the fourth as they loaded the bases with one out but grounded into an inning-ending double play that kept Le Mars from scoring. Le Mars would get runners on the corners with two outs in the fifth and not score as well. That was the last scoring chance for Le Mars as Bishop Heelan went on to win 4-0.
Despite the two losses, Head Coach Keely Steffen thought her team played well against a ranked opponent in Bishop Heelan.
The missed execution at the plate lead to the missed opportunities with the bases loaded and runners on the corners in game 2. In those scenarios, Coach Steffen wants her team to attack without losing control at the plate.
Highlighted in the loss were the errors committed by the Bulldogs in the field. Le Mars let some errors and mistakes stack on each other in innings. Coach Steffen says that that can’t happen.
With the sweep, Bishop Heelan improves to 30-7 and 25-1 in the MRAC. This clinches their sixth MRAC softball championship since 2000. The Crusaders wrap up the regular season tonightR at home against Sioux City East. Le Mars falls to 20-11 and 15-6 in MRAC play dropping to third in the conference standings. The Bulldogs head to Council Bluffs TJ tonight to make up a game. They will then be at Sergeant Bluff-Luton on Friday with two more doubleheaders at home scheduled for next week.
Wednesday Scores:
Baseball:
Missouri River Activities Conference:
#9 Sioux City East 5 Council Bluffs Lewis Central 1
War Eagle Conference:
Hinton 3 Gehlen Catholic 2
MMCRU 4 Harris-Lake Park 0
Unity Christian 8 Akron-Westfield 2
#3 Remsen St. Mary’s 14 West Sioux 4
Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn 5 Trinity Christian 3
Western Valley Conference:
Ridge View 9 OABCIG 5
Lawton-Bronson 13 Westwood 4
Softball:
Missouri River Activities Conference:
Council Bluffs AL 13 Sioux City West 1
Council Bluffs AL 11 Sioux City West 0
Sioux City East 11 Council Bluffs TJ 1
Sioux City East 7 Council Bluffs TJ 5
Sergeant Bluff-Luton 7 Sioux City North 2
Sergeant Bluff-Luton 8 Sioux City North 1
War Eagle Conference:
Hinton 5 Gehlen Catholic 4
MMCRU 17 Harris-Lake Park 6
#6 Akron-Westfield 12 Unity Christian 0
#15 Remsen St. Mary’s 5 West Sioux 4
Trinity Christian 7 Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn 0
Western Valley Conference:
Tournament Results:
#9 OABCIG 17 #8 Lawton-Bronson 8
#1 Ridge View 14 #9 OABCIG 2
#4 Kingsley-Pierson 8 #5 Westwood 4
#3 West Monona 7 #6 Woodbury Central 2
#2 River Valley 8 #7 MVAOCOU 7
