Sports

REMSEN — A night after losing their first game of the season to a winless team, the Remsen St. Mary’s softball team bounced back in a big way Thursday, knocking off previously unbeaten Class 1A No. 5 Akron-Westfield 5-4 in War Eagle Conference action...

HINTON — After getting beat in their previous games, the Hinton baseball and softball teams bounced back with War Eagle Conference wins over Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn on Wednesday. The softball team won 10-0 in five innings for their sixth win in their last seven meetings with the Hawks...

LAKE PARK — The Gehlen Catholic softball team brought an end to their five-game losing streak with a 16-0 win in four innings over Harris-Lake Park in War Eagle Conference action Wednesday. Gehlen has now won the last six meetings against the Wolves...

CLEGHORN/MARCUS — After enduring an 0-4 start and then a layoff due to COVID-19, the MMCRU softball team returned to action Wednesday with a 6-0 win over previously unbeaten Remsen St. Mary’s in War Eagle Conference action. The Royals were led by a 4-for-4 game from leadoff batter Faith Olson who homered and finished with 3 RBI. ...

LARCHWOOD — The Akron-Westfield softball team is used to short games where they blow teams out in five innings or less. Tuesday night’s marathon matchup against West Lyon made up for some of those lost innings as the two ranked teams went 13 innings before A-W finally prevailed by a 2-1 score...

SIOUX CITY — The last remaining unbeaten team in Class 4A, the Le Mars Community softball team moved to 9-0 following a pair of Missouri River Activities Conference games Tuesday. The latest games came against winless Sioux City West with the Lady Bulldogs winning by scores of 7-2 and 15-1...

SIOUX CITY — The Le Mars Community baseball team split their games with Sioux City West in Missouri River Activities Conference action Tuesday. Game one saw the Bulldogs come out on top by a 10-3 score. Caleb Dreckman led the team with 3 RBI as he doubled and hit a sacrifice fly. Brady Williams added a 2 RBI game with a pair of hits. Carter Arens had the other multi-hit game for the team and also reached by getting hit by a pitch...

HINTON — For the first time since getting shut out in back-to-back games late in the 2018 season, Hinton found themselves unable to scratch a run home in a baseball game. That season saw the Blackhawks make an early exit in the postseason and Head Coach Cale Kramer said that this 2-0 loss to West Sioux on Monday may also have an impact on the trajectory of the rest of this season for his team...

HINTON — The Class 2A No. 11 West Sioux softball team took out some frustration of a losing streak on Hinton in War Eagle Conference action Monday, beating the Blackhawks by a 13-1 score in three innings. The Falcons had entered the contest losing six consecutive contested games prior to that point...

REMSEN — Xavier Galles lined a hit to the outfield and Damen Brownmiller came home for the winning run as Class 1A No. 2 Remsen St. Mary’s survived a scare from Unity Christian in War Eagle Conference acton Monday. The Hawks scored two of their three runs in the bottom of the seventh in the 3-2 win. The winning hit came with two outs in the seventh and Jaxon Bunkers drove in the tying run two batters before with one out after Blaine Harpenau led off the frame with a walk...

KINGSLEY — Kingsley-Pierson topped Western Valley Conference rival Woodbury Central on both diamonds in action Monday. The K-P softball team earned a walk-off win in the eighth inning by a 2-1 score as Avery Schroeder came through with the game-winning hit. Schroeder was the only player with multiple hits for the Panthers in the game and drove in both of the team’s runs as she hit a single, double and then reached on an error...

AKRON — Class 1A No. 8 Akron-Westfield came away with a win over 3A No. 10 Spirit Lake in non-conference action Monday by a 7-0 final score. It was the first shutout loss for the Indians since the 2018 state tournament when they lost 10-0 to Albia in the state tourney opener...

REMSEN — Jim Wesselmann has a different perspective for this year’s baseball season. While most of his life has been spent either playing or coaching the game, Wesselmann is spending this season as a spectator. “To tell the truth, it’s a lot more relaxing, you can sit back and enjoy the game and see things from a different perspective,” he said. ...

GRANVILLE — Legendary Vosburg Field was back in use over the weekend for a baseball tournament. The home of many great Spalding Catholic teams over the years almost didn’t see games this season with Gehlen Catholic’s baseball season furlough due to COVID-19, but a handful of area teams still converged for the tournament...

SLOAN — Three Plymouth County teams were in action over the weekend at a tournament hosted by Westwood. Akron-Westfield competed on Friday and won both of their games. The team earned a 14-0 win over Western Christian in three innings. After a scoreless first, the 1A No. ...

LE MARS — The Le Mars baseball and softball teams earned Missouri River Activities Conference sweeps over Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson in action Thursday. The baseball team won a pair of low-scoring affairs as they bounced back from losing a pair to the crosstown rival of the Yellow Jackets earlier in the week...

KINGSLEY — A 5-0 victory moved the Kingsley-Pierson baseball team’s record to 5-0 as they topped West Monona in Western Valley Conference action Wednesday. It was the second straight shutout win for the Panthers which is a good sign for Coach Taylor Doeschot’s team after losing two of their top pitchers from last year...

MAPLETON/KINGSLEY — The Kingsley-Pierson softball team split their games on back-to-back nights Tuesday and Wednesday. The Lady Panthers edged MVAOCOU 9-8 Tuesday, before falling the next night in Western Valley Conference action to 2A No. 7 West Monona 13-2...

IRETON/REMSEN/HAWARDEN — A 5-0 start to the season for the Remsen St. Mary’s baseball team shouldn’t surprise too many people considering they entered the season ranked No. 2 in Class 1A. What might be more surprising is the fact that their counterparts on the softball diamond have also gotten out to an undefeated start as they are now 6-0 following Wednesday’s upset of 2A No. 8 West Sioux...

AKRON — Akron-Westfield and Hinton split a pair of War Eagle Conference games Wednesday with the No. 10 Lady Westerners scoring a 10-0 win and the Hinton baseball team edging out their foe by a 2-1 score. The softball game saw A-W score two runs in each of the first two innings followed by a six-run outburst in the third as they kept the status quo the next inning for a five-inning win...

COUNCIL BLUFFS — The Le Mars Community softball team picked up a sweep on the road at Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln on Tuesday. The team won the first game 2-0 as they scratched across lone runs in the fourth and fifth. Kady Leusink led off the fourth with a double and scored on a base hit from Libby Leraas. She added a bases-loaded single to drive in the other run the following inning...

ORANGE CITY — Le Mars Community used six walks to fuel a six-run sixth inning as they came from behind to win 7-2 in non-conference action Monday at MOC-Floyd Valley. Le Mars Head Coach Trent Eckstaine was pleased with the win, but said his team still isn’t playing up to their potential...

HINTON — Hinton stepped out of conference to play Storm Lake in baseball and softball games Monday. The Blackhawks earned the win in the baseball game while losing the softball contest. The baseball game remained scoreless until the sixth inning when the Blackhawks pushed across all three of their runs in the 3-0 game...

BATTLE CREEK/IDA GROVE — Kingsley-Pierson won a pair of Western Valley Conference games over OABCIG on Monday. The softball team won a high-scoring 15-10 affair as 10 of Kingsley-Pierson’s runs came in the final two innings. The Panthers got 17 hits in the game which included three-hit outings from Avery Schroeder, Anna Bubke, MaKenna Bowman and McKenzie Goodwin. Goodwin led the team with 5 RBI, followed by Bubke with a 3 RBI game...

AKRON — Class 1A No. 10 Akron-Westfield scored 10 runs in the first inning and went on to a 12-0 win in three innings against winless Harris-Lake Park in War Eagle Conference action Monday. Chloee Colt and Aubie Hartman each had a pair of hits in the contest while Megan Meinen and Autumn Bundy led the team with 2 RBI apiece. A total of 10 different players crossed home plate for the team in the win...

LAKE PARK/REMSEN — The Remsen St. Mary’s baseball and softball teams didn’t allow a single run in a pair of War Eagle Conference doubleheaders. On Friday, the teams blanked Harris-Lake Park in a pair of games. The softball squad picked up a 13-0 victory in six innings. Mya Bunkers led the way with a 3-for-4 game with 2 RBI. Tori Galles, Brittany Johnson and Carly Ortmann added two hits apiece...

AUSTIN, Texas — Simpson College baseball player Truman Schmitt earned Academic All-America® honors for his efforts during the 2020 season, the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced June 9. Schmitt becomes just the second player in Simpson history and first since 1991 to earn the honor...

MARCUS — The MMCRU softball team is the latest local team to have their season shut down due to a positive case of COVID-19. In a statement released Monday morning, the school district stated that a student-athlete on the high school softball team tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday...

LE MARS — The 1A No. 8 Gehlen Catholic softball team continued their perfect season Friday with a 9-1 win over Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn. GC racked up 13 hits as the top four in the order all had at least two. Leadoff batter Tiffany Woerdehoff reached on three singles, stole three bases and scored three times. Addison Weber, Sydney Livermore and Alyssa Kolbeck each had a pair of hits. Livermore and Kolbeck finished with 3 RBI apiece...

PAULLINA/MOVILLE/AKRON — The Akron-Westfield baseball team won their third consecutive game to start the season by topping South O’Brien 10-0 in six innings Thursday. Jack Anderson tossed a two-hit shutout with six strikeouts for the Westerners. A-W collected seven hits and nine walks in the win. ...

HINTON — Hinton swept a War Eagle Conference baseball and softball doubleheader from MMCRU on Thursday. The softball game featured a combined five home runs as five different players rounded the bases in a 6-2 Hinton win. The Blackhawks got roundtrippers from Bella Badar, Alyssa Fischer and Madison Goosmann in the contest. Faith Olson and Kristina Goth picked up the homers for the Royals...

SIOUX CITY — The Le Mars Community baseball and softball teams hit the road for the first time in Missouri River Activities Conference play and scored a pair of doubleheader sweeps on Thursday. The Le Mars baseball team worked from a 6-0 deficit and came back and won 10-8 in eight innings in the first game of their doubleheader. ...

LE MARS — The Gehlen Catholic baseball team has suspended their season for two weeks with the remainder of the season in question after that following a positive case of COVID-19 from a team member. “We found out today that we need to basically stop anything for 14 days,” Gehlen Catholic baseball coach and athletic director Kirk Kronaizl said on Friday. “That’s no practices or no games.”...

REMSEN — In a normal year, being in midseason form by June 17 would be the expectation. In 2020, that date marked the first start for Blaine Harpenau in just the second game of the season for Remsen St. Mary’s. Despite being just his first start of the season, Harpenau appeared to be in top form as he struck out a career-high 17 Hinton batters as the Hawks won 6-2...

REMSEN — Deficits in the fifth and sixth inning haven’t fazed the Remsen St. Mary’s softball team so far this season. After earning a comeback win in their season opener against South O’Brien by a 3-2 score by scoring twice in the sixth inning, the Lady Hawks scored three runs in the fifth inning against Hinton on Wednesday to come away with a 5-4 win...

AKRON — Natalie Nielsen struck out 10 in a four inning no-hitter Wednesday as Akron-Westfield topped Unity Christian 12-0 for Head Coach Todd Colt’s 600th career win. The No. 12 Lady Westerners pushed across one run in the first, four in the second, two more in the third and finished off the game with five runs in the fourth in the victory...

IRETON/HAWARDEN — Class 1A No. 11 Gehlen Catholic knocked off Class 2A No. 5 West Sioux in War Eagle Conference action Wednesday by a 5-1 final score. Rylee Schnepf allowed just one run in a complete game effort as she walked three and gave up four hits. Schnepf picked up 10 strikeouts in the contest, hitting that number in back-to-back games after also doing so in the season opener against Woodbury Central on Tuesday...

REMSEN — Remsen St. Mary’s opened the season with a War Eagle Conference sweep of South O’Brien on Monday. The RSM softball team put the go-ahead runs across in the sixth inning and eighth grade pitcher Marina Cronin put the Wolverines down in order in the top of the seventh to secure the complete game 3-2 win for the team. Cronin finished with three strikeouts including the final two outs of the game...

REMSEN — Six runs in the fifth and another five in the seventh helped the Kingsley-Pierson softball team pull away for a 14-7 win over MMCRU in non-league action Tuesday. Rachel Bohle smacked a pair of home runs for the Panthers as she finished with a team-high 4 RBI. The Panthers added plenty of extra-base hits as Avery Schroeder and McKenzie Goodwin each tripled and the team added five doubles including two from Emily Redinius. Goodwin, Hayden Dunne and Makenna Bowman added the other doubles...

LE MARS — Rylee Schnepf struck out 10 and Emily Kellen added two more Ks in the circle as 1A No. 11 Gehlen Catholic opened their season with a 6-1 win over Woodbury Central on Tuesday. Schnepf pitched the bulk of the game, going 6 1/3 innings with just one hit and walk allowed. ...

LE MARS — The Le Mars Community softball team gifted new head coach Keely Steffen a walk-off 5-4 victory over Sioux City East on Tuesday in the season opener. “I just saw a lot of good things of them coming out here,” Steffen said. “Even though we were down, we put in a lot of work. We started hitting the ball and we came out with a win, so that was a great job on their part.”...

LE MARS — The Gehlen Catholic baseball team reached double digits in scoring in just two games last year as they ended 6-17. The Jays made a statement in their opening game of 2020, scoring a 20-2 win over Cherokee in four innings. The team scored all 20 runs within the first two innings, plating four in the opening frame and adding 16 more in the second. ...

AKRON — It was a sweep for Akron-Westfield over MMCRU in War Eagle Conference action Monday in the season opener. The Westerners came out on top 11-1 in the baseball game for a five inning victory. Jack Anderson tossed a one-hitter as he struck out six batters...

KINGSLEY — Kingsley-Pierson started the season with a pair of wins over Ridge View in Western Valley Conference action Monday. The K-P baseball team, receiving votes in the preseason rankings, fell behind 7-1 after two and a half innings, but scored seven runs in the third and never trailed again in an 18-10 slugfest. ...

LAKE PARK — The Hinton baseball and softball teams came away with run-rule wins over Harris-Lake Park in the season opener Monday. The Hinton softball team came away with a 15-1 win in three innings. The team picked up 11 hits and five walks while also capitalizing on eight errors by the Wolves to score their runs. The Lady Blackhawks scored five runs in the first before adding two in the second and eight in the third...

The Le Mars Community softball team will have a different look this season as they enter the MRAC and have a new head coach. The team ended last season with a 21-13 record and were .500 in their final year in the Lakes Conference. The team went 6-4 in non-league action against MRAC foes in 2019 which included seeing their season come to a close against Bishop Heelan by a 2-1 score in regional action...

With the summer sports season just around the corner, we take a look at our local baseball teams as they prepare to take the diamond for the first organized sports since March. After fielding a fairly young squad last season, Le Mars should have plenty of returning experience to turn to in 2020. ...

With the spring sports season shutdown, we decided to dig through the archives to see what were in our sports pages during this time period over the years. The headlines are taken from those pages with our summary of what was printed in the article...

ORANGE CITY — Hinton’s Kyle Brighton has signed a letter of intent to continue his baseball career at Northwestern College beginning this fall. A standout in four sports for Hinton High School, Brighton has lettered three years for the Blackhawks baseball team heading into his final season this summer. ...

With the spring sports season shutdown, we decided to dig through the archives to see what were in our sports pages during this time period over the years. The headlines are taken from those pages with our summary of what was printed in the article...