Warriors, Cougars battle to a split

CEDAR RAPIDS - For both of these teams, the meat of the schedule beckons.

'We took a step forward today,” Cedar Rapids Washington Coach Erin Jones said after the Warriors earned a Mississippi Valley Conference softball double-header split with Class 5A No. 7 Cedar Rapids Kennedy on Tuesday at Franklin Field.

'We have something like 22 games in the next 11 days. We don't have time to take steps backward.”

Emily Oler's two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning broke a 3-3 tie as the Warriors (8-10 overall, 5-9 MVC) took the opener, 6-4. Kennedy (15-5, 11-3) rebounded in the nightcap, 5-2, behind a season-high 11 strikeouts from pitcher Andrea McEachran and a three-hit performance by Sydney Kinney.

'My riseball was really good tonight,” McEachran said. 'It's my favorite pitch to throw. And I had a really good defense behind me.”

The Cougars did not commit an error all night.

A rash of rainouts have both of these teams playing a lot of games between now and early July, when the postseason begins. Kennedy still must face the majority of the MVC front-runners.

'That's the best part about it,” said Kennedy Coach Dan Gratz. 'We're going to be in a lot of tight games. Until (regionals start), it's all about getting better every day. It's about selfless play, and our kids, 1 through 14, have bought into it.”

Washington rallied from a 3-1 deficit to take the opener. Dana Riley's sacrifice fly tied it at 3-3 in the fifth inning, then Oler came through in the sixth with her only hit of the night, her first homer of the season to give the Warriors the lead for good.

'I practiced my hitting five times in the last two days,” Oler said. 'An hour before noon, an hour around 3 o'clock. A lot of swings, a lot of practice.

'The home run ... you can't beat that, especially since it helped win the game for us.”

Jessi Puk's RBI single made it 6-3, then the Cougars got a home run from Kinney and threatened for more in the seventh before a double play doused the rally.

Kinney was 4-for-6 in the twinbill with a pair of doubles to go with her home run.

The Cougars scored three times in the fourth inning of Game 2 and maintained the lead from there. McEachran was dominant with the exception of the bottom of the fourth, giving up six hits but only two runs. Other than that inning, she allowed just two hits.

CEDAR RAPIDS WASHINGTON 6-2, CEDAR RAPIDS KENNEDY 4-5

At Franklin Field

Game 1

C.R. Kennedy 010 200 1 - 4 6 0

C.R. Washington 100 023 x - 6 11 3

Jenna Schwartzhoff and Peyton Baskerville. Payton Bruner and Anne Riley. W - Bruner (3-6). L - Schwartzhoff (8-3). HR - CRK: Sydney Kinney (1); CRW: Emily Oler (1).

Game 2

C.R. Kennedy 000 301 1 - 5 12 0

C.R. Washington 000 200 0 - 2 8 1

Andrea McEachran and Megan Weber. Emily Oler and Jessi Puk. W - McEachran (5-1). L - Oler (0-1). HR - CRK: Weber (1).

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