By BURDELL HENSLEY
EDDYVILLE — Oskaloosa sent 13 batters to the plate and scored nine runs in the first inning on the way to a 13-3 win over Eddyville-Blakesburg in area softball action at Eddyville Tuesday evening. After the big first inning the game settled into an evenly matched contest with the Rockets fighting back to avoid the 10 run rule.
“Take away the first inning and we were right with them,” Eddyville-Blakesburg coach Shellee Shafer said. “We put the ball in play and kept battling. Oskaloosa has a nice, veteran ball club and we played them much better this time. We made some improvements and as a young team we will try and build on that.”
Megan Gott led the first inning charge for the Indians with a pair of singles that drove in three runs. Ashley Jimenez delivered a two-run double and Samantha Allgood and Jacque Terrell each had RBI singles. Amanda Christenson and Jennifer Whitehead also had base hits in the inning.
The Rockets got one run back in the bottom of the first when Megan McDonough beat out and infield hit, moved up on a wild pitch and scored on a single by Kelly Lane.
Oskaloosa raised the margin to 11-1 with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth. Whitehead stroked a two-out single and scored on a double by Allgood. Allgood moved up and scored on a passed ball.
The Rockets were facing the 10-run rule in the bottom of the fifth as Indian hurler, Whitehead fanned the first two batters. Tarah Alexander ripped a base hit through the middle to give the Rockets a spark of life. That hit was followed by singles by McDonough and Brooklyn Burrell. Alexander scored on Burrell’s hit to keep the game alive.
The Indians put a run on the board in the top of the sixth as Jimenez, Gott and Whitehead all singled. But the Rockets pushed the game into the seventh with a run in the bottom of the inning as Lane singled and was chased home by a triple by Ashley Conrad.
The final Oskaloosa run came in the seventh when Renee Lenox singled and both runners were safe on a fielder’s choice by Terrell. A fielder’s choice by Dana Van Renterghem cut Lenox down at the plate, but Terrell scored on a double by Christensen.
Whitehead went the distance for the win and she went 4-for-4 at the plate to led the offense. She walked only one batter and fanned seven in seven innings of work.
Oskaloosa coach Jay Harms was pleased to see his team jump out to an early lead.
“We got off to a good start and it is nice to have that cushion,” Harms said. “We faced a really fast pitcher last night at Boone and the kids adjusted well. We had opportunities to close the game out and just couldn’t get the out we needed. But give E-B credit, they have a young team and they just kept battling us.”
The Indians are now 14-13 overall and 5-7 in the Little Hawkeye Conference. They had a key league contest at Newton Wednesday and then they take part in the rugged Iowa City West Classic at the Iowa Hawkeye complex over the weekend. The Rockets are 13-17 and will host Centerville Thursday night.
Oskaloosa 13, Eddyville-Blakesburg 3
Osky 900 201 1 — 13 16 0
E-B 100 011 0 — 3 8 4
Oskaloosa battery — Jennifer Whitehead (W, 7 IP, 3 R, 8 H, 3 BB, 7 K) and Dana Van Renterghem.
2B — Amanda Christenson, Ashley Jimenez, Samantha Allgood.
Hits — Christenson 2-for-5, Jimenez 2-for-5, Megan Gott 3-for-5, Whitehead 4-for-4, Allgood 2-for-4, Renee Lenox 1-for-3, Jacque Terrell 2-for-4. Runs — Christenson, Jimenez 3, Gott, Brittany Sams 2, Allgood 2, Terrell 2, Audrianna Glassford. RBI — Christensen, Jimenez 2, Gott 3, Allgood 2, Terrell.
Eddyville-Blakesburg battery — Allison Koebke (L, 7 IP, 13 R, 116 H, 1 BB, 2 K) and Megan McDonough.
3B — Ashley Conrad.
Hits — McDonough 2-for-4, Brooklyn Burrell 1-for-4, Kelly Lane 2-for-3, Conrad 1-for-3, Tarah Alexander 2-for-3. Runs — McDonough, Lane, Alexander. RBI — Lane, Conrad.
