Close calls for Knights’ softball

MOUNT VERNON – Home team rallies in both ends of an April 17 doubleheader kept Wartburg College from earning an Iowa Conference victory.

The Knights (8-23, 0-10 IIAC) opened a 3-0 lead through an inning and a half in the opener, but the host Rams (19-7, 4-4 IIAC) answered with five in the second and two in the third en route to a 10-6 decision. In the nightcap, Coach Kara Kehe's squad held a 2-1 lead into the bottom of the seventh before Cornell plated two runs without the benefit of a hit.

Four players posted multiple-hit efforts in game one. Sophomore outfielder Linnea Haler of Hastings, Minn., ended with two hits and two RBIs to top the group, while junior outfielder Lynn Heitkamp of Galena, Ill., junior catcher Emily Braem of Glen Ellyn, Ill., and sophomore outfielder/infielder Ashley Bienemann of Alburnett also had two hits each. In game two, Braem launched her third home run of the season and scored a run.

Wartburg returns to Lynes Field for league action Saturday, April 23. The University of Dubuque visits as part of the Knights' recognition of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association's “Strikeout Cancer” initiative. First pitch is 2 p.m.

NOTES – Haler's offensive output moved her current hit streak to four. .. Heitkamp's multiple-hit finish in game one was her 14th such of the season which is first on the team. … Wartburg's regular season has three dates remaining, two of which are at home including Saturday's clash with the Spartans.