MONROE — The Prairie City-Monroe softball team fell behind North Polk early and never recovered during a Heart of Iowa Conference game Friday night.
The Class 3A No. 11 Mustangs were handed their first conference loss, and North Polk pulled within one game of PCM and Collins-Maxwell/Baxter in the HOIC standings after jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning.
The Comets, who fell out of the rankings last week, led 5-2 after five innings and returned home with a 7-3 road win.
The Mustangs played the game without two starters. Senior Jaiden Rogers continues to miss time with an injury, while senior Abby Waddell missed Friday’s game and Saturday’s tournament Eddyville because she was in Florida attending a wedding.
Waddell came into the weekend hitting .463 for the Mustangs.
North Polk (9-5 overall, 6-2 in the HOIC) was led offensively by Rebecca Rimathe, who had two home runs and five RBIs.
PCM senior Jayci Vos had three hits and two steals to lead PCM (9-5, 7-1). Vos is now hitting .600 at the plate.
Seniors Kayla Jennings and Courtney Bridges both had two hits. Jennings hit a solo home run and a double.
Jennings (6-3) took the loss in the circle, allowing four earned runs on eight hits with 11 strikeouts and two walks.
PCM plays Greene County at 7:30 p.m. Monday in Jefferson. The Mustangs defeated the Rams 7-6 in the season opener on April 22.
Mustangs lose twice at EBF Tournament
EDDYVILLE — The Mustangs fell twice at the Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont tournament Saturday, losing to Class 2A No. 3 EBF and Class 1A BGM.
PCM fell 5-3 to the ranked Rockets in the tournament opener. The Mustangs ended their day with a 6-5 loss to the Bears.
PCM led EBF 1-0 early, but the Rockets rallied with a four-run third inning. The Mustangs got within 4-3 with single runs in the fourth and sixth, but EBF tacked on a final run in the seventh. Four of the five runs scored by the Rockets (17-3) were unearned.
Bridges and sophomore Anna Shaver each had two hits for PCM. Vos, Bridges and Jennings each scored a run, and junior Madison Foster and senior Brooke Nicholson both had an RBI.
Jennings took the loss against the Rockets, allowing five runs — one earned — on six hits with seven strikeouts and two walks.
The Mustangs couldn’t hold a narrow lead against BGM. PCM led 3-2 after four innings and went up 5-2 in the top of the fifth before the Bears (8-7) pulled ahead for good with a four-run fifth inning.
Vos had three hits, three runs and two steals to lead the PCM offense. Jennings and Nicholson each had two hits and Foster chipped in two RBIs.
Sophomore Maya Hegwood (3-2) took the loss in the circle for PCM. She allowed six earned runs on nine hits with one strikeout and four walks.