Iowa Western split a double header against NJCAA D2 #12 Johnson County on Tuesday.
Pitcher Julie Katz and the lights-out Reiver defense kept Johnson County scoreless in game one. Katz recorded four strikeouts while pitching a complete game. Diving plays by third baseman Logon Brown and center fielder Lily Gregory helped limit the Cavaliers to only three hits.
Offensively Iowa Western produced four runs in game one. The first run of the day was initiated in the third inning by outfielder Natalie Gunn. Gunn reached first base safely on a bunt. Michaela Epp then laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Gunn to second base. Lily Gregory scored Gunn with a double.
The Reivers scored again in the fourth inning when Catcher Allison O'Driscoll led off the inning with a triple. A single by first baseman Madysen Kim scored O'Driscoll. Brown and Gregory added two singles to the inning but were unable to score. Iowa Western led at the end of the fourth 2-0.
Iowa Western added a final two runs in the fifth inning. Reamer reached first on an error. O'Driscoll capitalized on the error by hitting a double to score Reamer. Another single by Kim scored O'Driscoll.
Iowa Western won with a final score of 4-0.
Game two started off rough for Iowa Western. A single, an error, and a misplayed fly-ball allowed Johnson County to score three in the top of the first.
The Reivers proceeded with a single by Gregory. Gunn got on by an error to follow. Two consecutive walks scored Gregory cutting down the deficit to 3-1.
Iowa Western cleaned up their defense in the second inning and sat down three batters in a row.
On the offensive half of the inning the Reivers scored another run. Cassiddy Beeby began with a single. Brown hit into a fielder's choice and Johnson County got the lead out. A triple from Gregory scored Brown, ending the inning with Iowa Western still down by one run.
The score remained 3-2 until the bottom of the sixth inning. Iowa Western had two straight strikeouts and was trailing by one run. Gregory was up to the plate and hit a solo homerun to tie the game at 3-3.
Both teams were unable to score in the seventh and sent the game into extra innings.
Johnson County reached base on an error. A flyout to right and a single scored their runner and they took the lead. Iowa Western failed to reach base and ended the game with a loss of 4-3.
