COUNCIL BLUFFS — A nearly four-hour round trip ended with two losses as the Creston softball team fell twice in Hawkeye 10 conference actio at Lewis Central Thursday, 10-0 and 11-4.
“We were much better in some things than we were the other night,” Creston coach Mike McCabe said. “Pitching-wise we’ve got to be better location-wise. We’re not quite where we feel where we want to be dictating our game.”
Cali Foglesong sustained the pitching loss in game one. She struck out four and walked two.
Lewis Central managed 15 hits in the first outing. Maddie Nichols and Gabrielle Martinez led the way for the Titans with a combined seven hits in eight at-bats in game one.
Saige Rice had a double and a single in game one.
Lexie Little and Cali Foglesong each added a single.
Kylee LaMasters undertook her first varsity start in game two and kept the Panthers in the game early on.
Little had a chance to help Creston grab a lead in the fourth with the Panthers down. She jumped on the first pitch of her at-bat and popped the ball up for an out.
Chloe Hagle hit a 2-RBI single next as the Panthers put up three runs in the inning to come within a run of the Titans.
But Creston got no closer than the score of 5-4, as Lewis Central tacked on two runs in the home half of the fourth and four in the sixth.
“We had some hard hit balls, had some slaps and put some pressure on them with some running,” McCabe said.
Hagle and Mattie Wheeler were the lone Panthers to tally a hit in game two.
McCabe took several positives out of Thursday’s trip. He saw things come across better for the Panthers than in Tuesday’s loss to Glenwood.
“Our demeanor on the field, our presence he was stronger,” McCabe said. “I thought our communication was a lot better.”
UP NEXT — Creston (1-3, 0-3) plays at Clarinda (0-2, 0-2) Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
Lewis Central 10, Creston 0.
R H E
Creston 000 000 0 — 0 4 1
LC 301 006 x — 10 15 1
Cr: Cali Foglesong 4K 2BB, Chloe Hagle. LC: Ashtyn Miller 10K 1BB. W — Miller. L— Foglesong. 3B: none. 2B — Cr: Saige Rice 1. LC: Gabrielle Martinez 2, Maddie Nichols 2. RBI — LC: Martinez 4, Nichols 2, Presley Rodenburg 2, Alea Binkley 1. Multiple hitters — Cr: Saige Rice 2. LC: Nichols 4, Shudak 3, Martinez 3, Haley Back 2.
Creston 100 300 0 — 4 2 1
LC 050 204 x — 11 9 5
Cr: Kylee LaMasters 2K 8BB and Chloe Hagle. LC: Ashtyn Miller 7K 3BB. W — Miller. L— LaMasters. 3B — LC: Josie Shudak 1. 2B — LC Shudak 1, Gabrielle Martinez 1, Shelby Hatcher 1. RBI — Cr: Chloe Hagle 2. LC: Martinez 4, Shudak 1, Ashtyn Miller 1, Alea Binkley, Maddie Nichols, Hatcher 1 . Multiple hitters — LC: Shudak 2, Martinez 2, Binkley 2.