Panthers battle three over weekend

The Panthers had another successful weekend of softball, winning Friday and splitting their games Saturday at the Brian Erbe End of Season Classic.

Creston vs Shenandoah 2-0

After being postponed from Tuesday, June 24 due to rain, Creston (16-0, 24-6) finally faced off against the Mustangs (4-12, 7-15) Friday. The Panthers were able to hold off any points from Shenandoah, though they only scored two runs of their own early in the game.

Ava Adamson was the only player to make any runs, scoring in the first and third innings. While not making it home, Jaycee Hanson got a double in the fourth inning.

Taryn Fredrickson had a successful time in the circle, allowing only two hits and striking out 12.

Defense stayed strong the entire game, with a team fielding percentage of .963.

Creston vs Louisa-Muscatine 7-3

The Panthers saw more action in Saturday’s early afternoon, playing 2A Louisa-Muscatine (12-0, 21-4) to a 7-3 victory.

While neither team found the home plate in the first inning, Creston started their scoring in the second inning with Evy Marlin, closely followed by Mila Kuhns.

Inning three followed suit, with Adamson and Fredrickson both earning runs for the team.

While the Panthers grabbed no new runs in the fourth inning, the Falcons tried getting back into the running, Hannah Kissell and Rhylann Lessenger both crossing the plate at the bottom of the fourth.

Creston answered the challenge, adding three more to their score in the fifth inning with runs from Marlin, Sidney Staver and Hanson.

The Falcons made one last attempt at the bottom of the fifth, Grace Kissell brining Louisa-Muscatine’s score up to three runs. However, that would be the end of scoring in this game for either team.

Creston vs Dubuque Hempstead 4-8

In their final matchup of the weekend, the Panthers pursued a third win against 5A Dubuque Hempstead (6-15, 12-16). However, Creston was unable to overcome the Mustangs, losing 4-8 in their first defeat since their June 13th game against 5A Ankeny.

The Mustangs scored first, earning a run in both the first and second innings. The Panthers joined in the scoring in the third inning, Kennedy Strider bringing the team their first run of the game.

Three more runs over the next two innings followed for the Mustangs, bringing the score at the top of the fifth to 1-5. Sidney McDonald added another Panther run to the mix in the fifth, with the Mustangs adding one of their own as well.

The Panthers gave it their all to finish out the game, with Marlin and Kuhns both making it to home. However, it wasn’t enough to overcome the Mustang’s lead, who went on to score three more runs at the bottom of the sixth before the end of the game.

While they didn’t win, Creston’s athletes worked hard. Strider was in the circle most of the game, pitching 101 times. Outfielders Cora Smith and Sasha Wurster had three putouts between the two of them.

The Panthers will be back in action tonight in a home doubleheader against St. Albert.