Le Mars softball put their long losing streak behind them with a doubleheader split at home against Sioux City East on Tuesday night. The Bulldogs lost game one by a final of 6-4 to extend that losing streak one more time to seven games. Le Mars would then win game two by a tight 5-4 final.
Le Mars held a 3-1 lead over East heading into the top of the sixth inning in game one. That sixth inning saw East bat around and score five runs on six hits. Le Mars head coach Keely Steffen says, when good teams score big late, it’s very tough to come back from that.
The Bulldogs were much better in game two with executing their offense especially with two outs. In the second inning, the Bulldogs scored four runs with two outs in the inning, and, in the fourth inning, Le Mars scored their final run of the game with two outs. Coach Steffen attributes her team’s success with two outs to a calm demeanor at the plate.
Lizzie Koonce got the start in the second game but struggled allowing three runs in an inning and a third. That’s when freshman Kylie Hofmann picked up the slack throwing five and two-thirds of one run softball to close things out. Coach Steffen says having pitchers that are able to pick each other up makes their staff so versatile.
This doubleheader with East signified the midway point of the MRAC conference schedule. The Bulldogs are 8-4 in the conference and are looking to put that seven-game skid behind them for good. Coach Steffen says the focus for her team is on continuing to play the way they know they can and the wins will take care of themselves.
Le Mars overall record is now 11-8 following the split. East is now 12-6 overall and 9-4 in the MRAC.
