March 29, 2024

Panthers grow over three-game set

Creston beats Red Oak Friday, drops two in Oskaloosa Saturday.

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A three-run first inning put Creston softball on top of Red Oak quickly, garnering a lead which they never surrendered Friday in a 5-2 win.

The contest was a make-up game from a previously scheduled matchup on June 11.

Saige Rice brought home leadoff hitter Chloe Hagle on a single to left field and Kylee LaMasters followed with an RBI groundout to bring home Sara Keeler as the Panthers one through four hitters all reached base without an out.

A wild pitch brought Rice in from third to give Creston its three-run lead.

“We had some timely hits,” said head coach Mike McCabe. “We got a little help in the first inning.”

Starting pitcher LaMasters allowed five hits in her first three innings of work, but recorded three key punchouts that allowed her to get out of jams.

She finished the contest with seven strikeouts, including striking out the side in the fourth inning.

“She’s been pretty solid ... location is the key. She doesn’t throw hard, but if her location is good she throws hard enough,” said McCabe mentioning her ability to keep batters off balance with a changeup.

LaMasters helped her own cause leading off the fourth inning with a double before Gracie Hagle singled home LaMasters’ courtesy runner Braelyn Baker to give Creston its biggest lead of the afternoon.

The one batter Creston’s ace couldn’t get out was Red Oak’s Chloe Johnson, who registered her third hit of the game, a two-run double to left-center field in the fifth inning.

In spite of the Johnson double, LaMasters kept the Tigers off the board the rest of the way.

The Panthers scored their fifth run on another Rice RBI single in the home half of the fifth inning.

Chloe Hagle went 3-for-4 at the plate with two runs scored.

Defensively, Creston kept the miscues to a minimum, a continuous point of emphasis by McCabe.

Panthers drop both in Oskaloosa

OSKALOOSA – After a slow offensive start against Knoxville Saturday, Creston plated five runs in the fifth inning to tie a contest that was reaching its time limit.

With the time constraints, the Panthers fell in the sixth inning as the tying run was gunned down at the plate after some miscommunication on the base paths, dropping the contest 8-7 Saturday.

Tiebreaking rules started each team with a runner at second base in the sixth. With the bases loaded – due to a walk and an infield single – Knoxville’s Maddie Findley cleared the bases, doubling just over the head of Creston’s Saige Rice.

Chloe Hagle took to the plate for the Panthers with two runners on in the bottom of the sixth. The Panther senior smoked a ball to shortstop that was snagged, saving a run.

It was the only at-bat in which Knoxville was able to get Hagle out as she posted another 3-for-4 day at the plate.

“She hit a laser right at the shortstop,” said McCabe. “She’s just having a good year ... It works out perfect for us because she’s on-base a high percentage of the time and then I can come in with someone who is pretty dang quick as a courtesy runner. She just continues to have a great offensive year for us.”

Keeler drove home a run in Creston’s next at-bat, LaMasters came up two batters later and knocked in Kiersten Latham before the final out was recorded at the plate as Keeler got caught trying to go home.

“It was a good ballgame,” said McCabe. “Proud of the them. We came right back (after falling behind 5-0).”

The fifth inning comeback started at the bottom of the order as Latham singled to leadoff the inning. Keeler doubled Latham home after Chloe Hagle reached base and LaMasters once again helped herself out in the circle with a two-run double.

Cayla Maitlen stepped to the dish two batters later and doubled home both LaMasters and Gracie Hagle, who reached on a walk.

Class 3A No. 2 Albia too strong

Albia posed a difficult foe in the second game as the No. 2 team in Class 3A quickly got ahead of eighth grade pitcher Gracie Hagle.

Creston managed two hits, but couldn’t plate a run before the Lady Dees plated 13 runs in three innings and ended the game in a run-rule.

“That’s a lot like a lot of our second doubleheader games this year,” said McCabe. “They’ve got a really good shot at going a long way this year with a solid lineup.”

McCabe noted that the Panthers can’t duplicate the kind of pitching they saw against one of 3A’s best and hopes Creston can use the matchup as experience to draw on moving forward.

Results

Creston 5, Red Oak 2

R H E

RO 000 020 0 — 2 7 1

Cr 300 110 x — 5 9 1

RO: Zoey Welter 6K 0BB and Chloe Johnson. Cr: Kylee LaMasters 7K 1 BB and Chloe Hagle. W – LaMasters (3-8). L— Welter. HR — None. 3B — None. 2B — RO: Chloe Johnson 1. Cr: Sara Keeler 1, LaMasters 1. RBI — RO: Chloe Johnson 2. Cr: Saige Rice 2, LaMasters 1, Gracie Hagle 1. Multiple hitters — RO: Chloe Johnson 3, Alexa McCunn 2. Cr: Chloe Hagle 2, Rice 2.

Knoxville 8, Creston 7

R H E

Knox 001 053 — 8 13 1

Cr 000 052 — 7 12 0

Kn: Jada Agan 5K 3BB and Anna Sanderson. Cr: Kylee LaMasters 8K 2BB and Chloe Hagle. W – Agan. L— LaMasters (3-9). HR — None. 3B — None. 2B — Kn: Reilly Finarty 2, Anna Sanderson 1, Maddy Findley 1. Cr: Sara Keeler 2, Cayla Maitlen 2. RBI — Kn: Findley 5, Finarty 2. Cr: Keeler 2, LaMasters 3, Maitlen 2. Multiple hitters — Kn: Findley 4, Emery Neer 3, Sanderson 2, Finarty 2. Cr: Chloe Hagle 3, Keeler 2, LaMasters 2, Maitlen 2, Kiersten Latham 2.

Albia 13, Creston 0 (3)

R H E

Al 544 — 13 9 0

Cr 000 — 0 2 2

Al: Mackenna Jones 7K 0BB and Danica Workman. Cr: Gracie Hagle 0K 4BB and Sara Keeler. W – Jones. L— Gracie Hagle (2-2). HR — Al: Kennedy Schroeder 1. 3B — None. 2B — Al: Jena Lawrence 2, Abbey Griffin 1. RBI — Al: Lawrence 2, Schroeder 2, Abigail Martin 2, Carlie Ford 1, Erin Heaton 1, Griffin 1. Cr: None. Multiple hitters — Al: Lawrence 2, Schroeder 2, Griffin 2. Cr: None.