PCM softball opens season with thrashing of Nevada

MONROE — Skylar Burns blasted her first career homer, four Mustangs registered two hits apiece and the Class 3A No. 15 PCM softball team hammered Nevada, 19-0, in three innings during the season opener on May 22.

The Mustangs scored 11 runs in the first and plated eight in the second and Rylee Parsons tossed a three-hitter in the circle in the Heart of Iowa Athletic Conference victory.

“Great way to start the season after a tough, emotional week,” PCM head softball coach Shaun Hudnut said. “We are thankful that our four juniors are all going to be OK, and we are so proud of how these girls have supported their teammates and come together with the focus they have had.”

Burns’ night included her first career varsity homer, two runs, two RBIs and one walk.

RaeAnn Duinink, Tori Lindsay, Paige Steenhoek and Joslin Briles all had two hits. Steenhoek hit two doubles, scored three runs, had one RBI and walked once, Lindsay doubled, scored two runs, had three RBIs and was hit by a pitch and Duinink doubled and tallied two runs and one RBI.

Briles doubled, scored one run and had four RBIs, Sidney Shaver had one hit, two walks, three runs, one RBI and one steal and Riley Johannes walked twice, scored two runs and had one RBI.

Addi Hudnut had one hit, two runs and one RBI, Addison Steenhoek doubled and had one RBI and Parsons collected one hit and one RBI and was hit by one pitch. Jayden Fridley and Lexi Fagg each scored one run, Lillian Humpal walked once and Ila Keuning was hit by a pitch and tallied one RBI.

Parsons earned the win in the circle after allowing no runs on three hits and five strikeouts and zero walks.

Nevada is now 0-3 overall and 0-3 in the HOIAC.

PCM 6, Greene County 3

JEFFERSON — A five-run fifth inning propelled the Mustangs to a 6-3 road win over Greene County during HOIAC action on Friday.

PCM had four hits and four errors in the win, while Greene County’s Emma Hoyle struck out 10 in the circle. The Rams committed three errors.

“Really nice win to end the week,” Coach Hudnut said. “Offensively, Hoyle is an extremely tough pitcher. We battled at-bats all game and capitalized on some small ball and aggressive base-running.”

Addison Steenhoek, Paige Steenhoek, Johannes and Lindsay all had one hit apiece. Paige Steenhoek had two RBIs and one run, Addison Steenhoek and Lindsay both chipped in one RBI and Johannes doubled and walked once.

Humpal scored two runs and stole one base and Addi Hudnut had one run and one steal. Burns also scored one run.

“Lillian Humpal and Addison Hudnut both did some really good things on the base paths as courtesy runners,” Coach Hudnut said. “Paige Steenhoek had a huge two-run single in the fifth to give us some breathing room.”

Parsons earned the win in the circle after allowing three runs — two earned — on five hits, four strikeouts and five walks. She also walked once at the dish.

Becca Anderson had two hits and two RBIs for the Rams (3-2, 2-1), while Hoyle allowed four hits in seven innings.

“We played some great defense through the first five innings against a fast team that tries to create chaos with the small game,” Coach Hudnut said. “We had some miscues in the sixth and seventh innings, but we were able to make some fantastic plays to finish it out.”

In the seventh, Lindsay made a diving catch from her shortstop position on a ball that was hit over the head of third baseman Johannes. Addison Steenhoek also caught a Greene County runner off third and teamed up with Johannes and Lindsay to execute the rundown.

PCM took the early 1-0 lead in the third after Parsons walked and courtesy runner Humpal stole second with two outs. A misplayed ball in left field allowed Humpal to score.

In the fifth, run-scoring hits by Addison Steenhoek, Paige Steenhoek and Lindsay pushed the margin to 6-0.

PCM 4, Pella 3

PELLA — A three-run sixth rallied PCM against Pella on Thursday and the Mustangs held off a late rally by the Lady Dutch during a 4-3 non-conference road victory.

The game was tied at 1-all after four innings. Pella plated one run in the fifth to go back in front, but PCM’s three-run sixth made it 4-2. The Lady Dutch tallied one run in the seventh.

“Nice win tonight as we just couldn’t get our bats going early on,” Coach Hudnut said. “Rylee pitched a solid game and limited hard contact throughout the night. The defense made some great plays behind her, too.”

The three-run sixth for PCM included a two-run go-ahead homer by Briles. That was her only hit, run and RBI of the game and she added a walk.

“Joslin has had great at-bats all week and came up huge in the sixth with a go-ahead two-run home run and we held on from there,” Coach Hudnut said.

Duinink had one hit, one RBI, one walk and one steal, Paige Steenhoek finished with one hit, two runs and one walk and Lindsay doubled and scored one run.

Shaver registered one hit and Johannes and Parsons each walked once.

Parsons was the winning pitcher. She allowed three runs — two earned — on eight hits and added two strikeouts and one walk.

Katie Pollack led the Lady Dutch (3-2) with three hits and two steals. Ava Curry chipped in two hits, three runs and one steal.

Saydel 5, PCM 2

DES MOINES — The Mustangs were limited to four hits and Paige Steenhoek’s two-run double in the sixth put PCM on the board, but 3A No. 3 Saydel was too much during a 5-2 road loss in HOIAC play on Wednesday.

“We played a really good team against third-ranked Saydel,” Coach Hudnut said. “Lake is a tough pitcher to hit off of. Our girls did a great job of putting the ball into play and forcing Saydel to field the ball.”

Dakota Lake led the Eagles with two hits at the plate and she struck out nine in seven innings in the circle.

Paige Steenhoek’s lone hit was a two-run double in the sixth. Shaver and Addison Steenhoek got on base in front of Paige Steenhoek with a one-out single and a bunt single, respectively. Briles got PCM’s other hit and Duinink walked once.

Parsons took the loss in the circle after allowing two earned runs on four hits in seven innings. She struck out nine and walked one.

“Parsons was solid all night, only giving up one really hard-hit ball,” Coach Hudnut said. “Saydel was able to string some together in the fifth. Defensively, we played an error-free clean game, which was a step forward after our own miscues cost us against Grinnell. Liked seeing that focus and execution on the defensive side.”

Ryley Pecina and Makenzie McKay each had two hits for Saydel (4-0, 3-0).

“We had that fifth run thrown out at the plate, but unfortunately got an unfavorable obstruction call on (Addison) Steenhoek,” Coach Hudnut said. “The umpire called it within how the rule is written. It’s just one of the worst rules we have in softball right now. It takes the catcher’s ability to go after a ball on a play at home. We executed the way we should have and the runner was clearly out. It’s something the Girls Association really needs to take a look at and let the game be the game.”

Grinnell 16, PCM 14

MONROE — A pair of seven-run innings was not enough for PCM because the Mustangs committed seven errors during a 16-14, nine-inning home loss to Grinnell on Tuesday.

Both teams had 10 hits but the miscues by the Mustangs were too much to overcome.

“It was a back-and-forth game where we came up short in some spots,” Coach Hudnut said. “We played well enough offensively to win, but didn’t take care of the ball throughout the game in spots that we needed to. Proud of how our girls fought throughout the game.”

Grinnell led 4-0 after three innings, but PCM scored seven in the fourth to go up 7-4. The Tigers plated three in the fifth to tie the game, but another seven runs in the fifth pushed PCM’s margin to 14-7.

The Tigers (4-0) rallied with four in the sixth and three in the seventh to force extra innings and then won it with a pair of runs in the ninth.

Addison Steenhoek and Johannes each homered and had two hits. Johannes added two runs, three RBIs, one walk and one hit by pitch, while Addison Steenhoek chipped in four RBIs.

Briles doubled, had two hits, scored one run and was hit by one pitch, Lindsay finished with one hit, two runs, two RBIs and one steal and she was hit by one pitch and Shaver added one hit, two runs, one walk and one hit by pitch.

Burns registered one hit, one run, one RBI and one walk, Duinink doubled and had two RBIs, Paige Steenhoek scored two runs, Addi Hudnut and Humpal each scored one run, Addi Hudnut stole one base and Parsons registered an RBI.

Parsons also took the loss in the circle after allowing nine runs — three earned — on seven hits in 7 1/3 innings. She struck out seven and walked five.

Lindsay tossed 1 1/3 innings and allowed seven runs — three earned — on three hits and she walked four and struck out two. It was her varsity pitching debut.