Spirit Lake and Western Christian played extra softball Monday to try and determine a winner, and in the end, the Wolfpack escaped with an 8-5 victory in nine innings in Lakes Conference play. The Indians led 5-3 entering the seventh, when Western Christian rallied to tie it on three base hits to start the frame. Then in the ninth, the Wolfpack notched four singles and a walk to manufacture three runs. Abby Horstman struck out eleven batters to get the win. Horstman allowed just one hit and a walk after the third inning. The Indians offense was led by Briana Brunsvold, who went 1-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored, and Emily Mercer, who tallied a hit and two runs driven in. Paige Krause took the loss giving up a dozen hits and eight earned runs. Both teams are now 4-4 in the conference, with the Indians falling to 16-5 overall. They travel to North Sentral Kossuth/Armstrong-Ringsted on Tuesday.
Lakes Conference front-runner Emmetsburg kept its foot on the gas with a 15-0 win over Storm Lake in three innings on Monday. Faith Schmidt struck out four and did not allow a single base runner, going through the Tornadoes in order for three innings. Offensively, Morgan Vlasman recorded three runs batted in on three hits, and Schmidt helped her own cause with three RBI on a 1-for-2 effort. The E-Hawks jump to a 7-1 record in conference and 15-5 overall. They travel to Algona this evening.
Elsewhere in the Lakes, Estherville-Lincoln Central kept pace in the standings with an 11-1 defeat of LeMars in six innings.
Graettinger-Terril earned a doubleheader sweep over Harris-Lake Park on Monday. The Knights took game one by a 12-7 final. Anna and Lydia Brandt combined to go 7-for-7 for the Lady Wolves in the loss. The nightcap ended in a 14-8 margin for G-T. Noreen Morrow of HLP was 1-for-2 with two walks. The two losses drop Harris-Lake Park to 4-14 on the year and 3-7 in the Cornbelt Conference. They travel to Sibley-Ocheyedan on Tuesday. Graettinger-Terril now sits 7-4 in the league and 7-12 overall.
Over in the War Eagle Conference, Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn split a twin bill with Spalding Catholic. The Hawks won the opener 4-2, but dropped game two 7-3. HMS boasts a 3-8 mark in the conference and 6-10 on the season.
In the Siouxland Conference, West Lyon defeated Okoboji for a 10-0 win in five innings. The Pioneers host non-conference foe Pocahontas this evening. And Sibley-Ocheyedan failed to keep up with Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley, suffering an 11-1 setback in five innings.
