COUNCIL BLUFFS -- The Ellsworth softball team continued their offensive surge in the first game of a weekend 4-game trip, then saw the attack, inexplicably, shut down for the next 3 games. After romping to an 11-0 win against Southeast (Neb.) CC Saturday, the Panthers' bats went quiet as they were limited to just 4 runs on 12 hits over the next 3 games, losing twice to Iowa Western, 12-0 and 10-3, and to Southeast, 2-1.
The blowout win against Southeast ran the ECC winning streak to 8 and gave the Panthers 124 runs in those 8 contests, all of which they scored in double figures.
But ECC was blanked on 3 hits in the day's second game, Iowa Western scoring 8 of its runs in the 2nd inning when they knocked out Ellsworth starting pitcher Asa Kesinger. Lili Ruiz picked up a double and ECC had singles by Breanna Howard and Nevaeh Dice. Kesinger was replaced in the circle by Abbigail Harding and Cheyanne Collins.
Gintare Paskocimaite and Dice both homered in Sunday's game with Iowa Western. Dice's shot scored Howard, who notched 2 of the Panthers' 4 hits. The Reivers led 5-0 after 2 innings. Ellsworth tallied all 3 of their runs on the 2 home runs in the top of the 3rd inning, but IWCC added on after that. Collins went one inning as the ECC starter and was followed by Jocelyn Hartley, Nicole Coppess and Kesinger.
Ellsworth picked up a run in the 2nd inning in their final game of the weekend when Lauren Brennan singled home Maggie Braniff. The score stayed 1-0 until a 2-run homer by Southeast in the bottom of the 6th proved to be the game-winner. Dice had 2 hits and Allyson Sparks and Braniff 1 each. Delaney Vetter suffered a tough-luck loss for Ellsworth, limiting SCC to just 3 hits and striking out 7.
The Panthers, with a 10-8 record, play a pair of games at Indian Hills on Tuesday.