Spartans sweep home opener

Southwestern swept Ellsworth, 7-2 and 5-3, in the Spartan softball home opener Tuesday.

Freshman pitcher Erika Kruse of Fort Madison pitched a complete game three-hitter in the opener and got the final out to earn the save in game two on a pleasant March afternoon near 60 degrees.

The wins improved the Spartans to 5-8 overall, coming off a 3-5 spring break trip through Missouri and Kansas. That trip included a 3-2 loss in another strong pitching performance by Kruse in allowing just three hits.

With only five runs allowed all day, coach Danny Jensen was pleased with his team’s performance. The offense was streaky, but bunched six hits together in a five-run fourth inning in the nightcap. That rally began with a solo home run by Kruse, who played first base in the nightcap before pitching the final out.

“We got a little shaky in the seventh there in the last game, but overall it was a very good day,” Jensen said. “We had two good (pitching) starts from Erika Kruse and Cora Ostrem, and our defense was flawless. That’s what we’ve been striving for since Aug. 17. Our team last year was the best defensive team I’ve had in 45 years of coaching softball, and this team is even better.”

Ellsworth, falling to 8-12, fell behind 4-0 early in the opener before the Spartans stretched it to 7-0. The Panthers sent two runners home in the seventh inning, but Kruse was never really in serious trouble. She issued one walk, struck out four and yielded three hits.

Sophomore Kaitlyn Mitchell of East Union started the team’s three-run rally in the sixth inning with a single to give Kruse a cushion. Shortstop Brooklyn Hadl drew a walk and Calie Allen bashed a run-scoring double. A sacrifice fly by Bethany Wright and single by sophomore third baseman Ashton Willis chased home two more runs.

Ellsworth opened up a 1-0 lead against Ostrem and the Spartans in the first inning of the nightcap and it stayed that way until Southwestern’s five-run outburst in the fourth.

After Kruse’s solo shot, Ostrem hit a double but was still stranded after two outs. Then, Julia Jones, Mitchell, Allen and Hadl had consecutive base hits to account for four more runs.

Both Kirsten Streeter and Kruse saw relief duty in Ellsworth’s two-run seventh inning, but Kruse got the final out on a popout to Streeter at first base.

Allen, a freshman from Omaha, provided the most punch to the offense by contributing three doubles and a single for the day. Kruse pounded a homer, double and single. Willis added two doubles and a single. Mitchell and Street each hit a pair of singles. Ostrem and Robins each had one extra-base hit.

Two former area preps — freshman Jayda Chew of Murray and sophomore Haylee Meyer of Orient-Macksburg — shared left field duties in the doubleheader.

The Spartans travel to Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo today (Thursday) in a game moved up from Saturday because of the weekend weather forecast. Southwestern returns home Monday and Tuesday against Iowa Lakes and DMACC, respectively.