The #10 (1A) Clarksville softball team went 0-2 at a tournament at North Fayette Valley Saturday. They fell to Independence 9-6 and Charles City 11-0 in six innings.
Against Independence, the Indians gave up four runs in the first inning, and trailed 6-0 after four. After Clarksville scored once each in the fifth and sixth innings, the Mustangs added three more runs in the top of the seventh for a 9-2 lead. Clarksville scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh, but the comeback ended short. Emmalee Manwarren had two hits. Sydney Lovrien issued two strikeouts and one walk.
In the second game, Charles City carried a 3-0 lead into the fifth inning, and they scored four runs each in the fifth and sixth innings to build an insurmountable lead. The Indians were unable to cut into the deficit in the bottom of the sixth, so the game ended early. It was the second meeting between the teams this season; Charles City won 6-5 in a tournament they hosted on Saturday, May 25.
The 6-3 Indians will look for a bounce back, but it won’t be an easy task in Monday’s trip to Dubuque to take on #1 (3A) Wahlert Catholic. Head Coach Katie Burman on the opportunity to face some of Iowa’s best teams this season.
“Last year we had a really, really good record, but we didn’t really challenge ourselves until we got closer to state,” Burman says. “This year that was a big goal for me, to really strengthen our schedule. We’ve got some really, really big competition and I think that’s going to help us so much in the postseason to see good hitting teams and good pitching.”
Wahlert is 5-0, and has faced one of the toughest early season schedules in Iowa, with four of the games coming against ranked Class 5A teams. They’re coming off a 1-0 win over Linn-Mar Thursday, which was a day after a sweep of #7 (5A) Dubuque Senior.
The game will start at 4:00 p.m. and will air on 99 The Wave with coverage beginning at 3:50.
