CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA -- Kirkwood showed the ECC Panthers why they are battling for the top spot in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference standings in a 4-game series Monday and Tuesday.  KCC swept doubleheaders both days, winning 21-1 and 13-2 the first day and 16-1 and 8-0 the next.

Ellsworth's only run in the opener of the series came when Allyson Sparks led off with a walk and scored on a Maggie Braniff single, the lone hit of the game for the Panthers.  Kirkwood, meanwhile, scored all of its 21 runs in a 3-inning span and collected 15 hits and 11 walks against ECC pitchers Delaney Vetter and Asa Kesinger.  They also slugged 4 home runs.

The Eagles had a pair of 5-run innings and blasted 3 more homers in game two.  A Nevaeh Dice double brought home Kesinger and Breanna Howard to account for the ECC scoring.  Dice had 2 hits and Gintare Paskocimaite and Kesinger the other 2.  Lauren Brennan and Abbigail Harding divided the pitching duties and gave up 18 hits.

Kirkwood set the tone for the second day of the series by scoring 8 runs in the first inning of the first game.  They added 5 more in the 2nd inning.  Lauren Brennan's 2nd-inning solo homer turned out to be the only run of the day for the Panthers, with Paskocimaite's single and double the only other hits.  Cheyanne Collins went the distance in the circle for ECC.

Paskocimaite notched a single and double for the lone hits in the nightcap.  Vetter started and worked 4 innings and Jocelyn Hartley finished up.

The Panthers were limited to just 4 runs and 10 hits against 3 KCC pitchers in the series.

Ellsworth will look to get back on the winning track on Thursday when they host Marshalltown CC in a doubleheader.