Archive for category Softball

SEISC soccer tournament

May 14

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IMS 8, Wapello 1

IMS 1, Burlington Notre Dame 0
IMS 0, Holy Trinity 1
Iowa Mennonite participated in the SEISC tournament. IMS opened the tournament, hosting Wapello at IMS. Reggie Hostetler scored three times and added an assist to lead to the 8-1 victory. Joining in the scoring were, Matt Libby, with a goal and two assists, Dillon Bender, with one goal and one assist, Tommy Rhodes, Ben Brenneman and Spencer Schrock, with an assist from Nathan Peters.
Wapello scored on a penalty kick.
The next morning IMS traveled to West Point to play Burlington Notre Dame in the semi-final. The field was wet from earlier rains but though the sky was dark and you could hear thunder in the distance the rain stayed away. Notre Dame played defensively keeping most of their players back, hoping to pick up a score on a quick counterattack. The back line of Chris Perez, Levi Schrock, Cody Miller and Jesse Shetler did an excellent job of shutting down this strategy limiting Notre Dame to two first half shots. At the same time, the IMS forwards struggled to put strong shots on goal with the crowded defense, and the half ended 0-0.
In the second half, IMS created more pressure. Tommy Rhodes beat a defender in the middle, side stepped another one and put a shot into the corner of the net for the 1-0 lead with 26 minutes left in the game. This forced Notre Dame to open up a bit more and to push forward but the defensive unit was up to the challenge as goalie, Ben Brenneman gathered five saves on eight shots to make the 1-0 lead hold.
IMS faced Holy Trinity in the championship game. Both teams were playing with tired legs and neither team created much offense in the first half with each team generating just five shots. Holy Trinity also played a defensive style playing for the counter attack. By now the rain had found its way to West Point making the field conditions slicker and the bounce of the ball more difficult to judge. Springing a ball through the middle, two defenders slipped allowing the Holy Trinity player to break through and face Brennman one on one. Brenneman made a brave challenge but the ball went into the net to give Holy Trinity the 1-0 lead and the win.
IMS moves to 13-4 for the season. IMS returns to action Tuesday with a trip to Williamsburg. The varsity game is scheduled to begin at 4:30 followed by the JV.
IMS closes out the regular season Thursday in a local derby, hosting neighbouring Mid-Prairie.

Softball awards presented

Jul 15

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Coach Chris Nachtigall recognized and presented awards to the 2011 softball players Thursday evening. Chris talked about their successful season and thanked the girls for their hard work. Special recognition went to the following people:

VARSITY  
Most Valuable Player Laura Hochstetler
Coaches Award Meredith Schrock
Golden Glove Infield Gretchen Geyer
Golden Glove Outfield Mo Brenneman
Most Improved Jacayla Litwiller
  Olivia Yutzy
Most Inspirational Gretchen Geyer
  Meredith Schrock
Bottle Bat Award Gretchen Geyer
   
First Team All Conference Mo Brenneman
  Gretchen Geyer
Second Team All Conference Laura Hochstetler
Honorable Mention All Conference Megan Haifley
  Naomi Miller
Academic All Conference Gretchen Geyer
  Meredith Schrock
  Emma Yutzy
   
JUNIOR VARSITY  
Most Valuable Player Casey Perez
Most Improved Stasia Majerick

Highland ends IMS’ softball season

Jul 10

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IMS 1 Highland 2 

Meredith Schrock

Mo Brenneman

Laura Hochstetler

 

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The IMS softball team ended its season on Friday night with a second round loss in Riverside.  The game started off with Mo Brenneman walking, stealing second base and moving to third on a passed ball putting IMS in business to start the game. Meredith Schrock came up with looked like a base hit to center field but a great catch by Highland held Brenneman at third. A perfect bunt by Laura Hochstetler was defended even better by Highland which getting Brenneman out while trying to take home.  In Highlands half of the inning IMS took them down in order not allowing a baserunner.  IMS would then strike first in the top of the second inning taking advantage of back to back hits by Megan Haifley and Amber Davis to start the inning off.  The next two batters were unable to get the ball in play but Keilah Brokaw stepped up with a two out base hit to plate the games first run and put IMS up 1-0.  As the game continued to unfold it was proven to be a pitchers dual with only seven hits combined for both teams.  Highland got one of those hits in the bottom of the second but IMS got the double play to clear the bases and eventually get out of the inning.  Highland would strike in the bottom of the fourth inning when IMS seemed to have picked the runner off at third base but were unable to execute the run down and allowed the runner to score - tying the game up at 1-1.  IMS would not be able to create anything on offense as Highland would prove to be a great defensive team coming up with great plays time after time to keep IMS off the base paths.  The IMS defense came up twice with plays of their own with two outs and runners on third.  With the game tied going into the bottom of the seventh Highland came through.  The lead off batter for Highland was able to get on by an IMS miscue and advanced to third with a stolen base and a sacrifice bunt.  Then in walk off fashion Highland came through with a double to right center scoring the winning run and ending IMS’s season. 

“I am proud of these girls.  They each had to step up and play a huge role for us to even be in this game.  We were missing a few players and some teams might have given up but not this group. They stepped up and put us in a position to win.  I am proud of these girls and for what they accomplished on Thursday night beating Lone Tree and tonight,”  complimented Head Coach Chris Nachtigall.  
 
The leaders for IMS were Megan Haifley 1-3 and 1 run; Amber Davis 1-3; Keilah Brokaw 1-3 1 RBI;  Laura Hochstetler 7 innings pitched, 4 hits, 1walk, 5 K’s 0 earned runs.
 
IMS finished the season 12-15.   
 
 

Megan Haifley

Mo Brenneman

 

 

 

 
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Coach Chris Nachtigall will be missed as he moves on to coach at the college level. He is thanked for the enthusiasm, knowledge, and competitive spirit he brought to the softball team.

 
 

 

 

 

  

Softball advances in Regionals

Jul 7

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IMS 3 Lone Tree 1

Megan Haifley

Keilah Brokaw

Naomi Miller

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The IMS softball team extended their season Thursday evening by beating Lone Tree 3-1 in the first round of Regionals.  After a coin toss determined that Lone Tree would be the home team play started with IMS leading things off.  In the first two inning IMS was unable to get anything going offensively and Lone Tree was unable to capitalize on key opportunities twice by having runners in scoring position with one out which would seem to be the theme for the night.  Lone Tree was able to strike first scoring their only run in the bottom of the third inning with a lead off bunt for a hit which then advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt.  With one out the next batter hit a double to the gap scoring the run putting Lone tree in business with another runner in scoring position.  A infield fly and ground out would end the inning holding Lone tree to one run.  
The IMS defense again would come through in the top of the fourth inning when Lone Tree had their first two batters reach base to put runners on first and second with no outs.  A sacrifice would move the runners to second and third but Megan Haifley came through with a diving catch for the second out and a ground out would end the inning to get IMS out of the inning.  

Jacayla Litwiller

McKayla Brush

IMS  used the momentum to get their bats going. Jacayla Litwiller led the inning off with a walk and McKayla Brush laid down a perfect bunt allowing Jacayla to take second and third with only one out.  Litwiller was able to score on a Keilah Brokaw hit to the short stop and Brokaw reached third on a throwing error and later scored on a sacrifice by Naomi Miller putting IMS in the lead 2-1.  Lone Tree would not go down easily loading the bases in the bottom of the fifth inning with no outs.  Again the IMS defense came through with the needed plays.  With the infield in, a grounder to Keilah Brokaw would get the force at home for one out.  The next batter hit a hard line drive to center field where Mo Brenneman made the catch and then threw the runner at second out for the double play to end the inning and get IMS out of the jam.  The next two innings would be fairly uneventful for both teams and IMS would take the win moving them to the next round of the tournament to face Highland Friday evening at Riverside. 

“This was a great example of the team that takes care of the little things will win the game. Tonight we did that.  We were able to make key plays when we needed to which allowed us to get out of a number of jams.  I am proud of how hard these girls played tonight. It is a testament to how hard work and playing as a team puts you in the position to win,”  commented Head coach Chris Nachtigall.  
IMS was led by Megan Haifley 1-3, Mo Brenneman 1-4, Laura Hochstetler 1-2 with a double, Keilah Brokaw with 2 runs scored and 1 RBI, Jacayla Litwiller 1 run scored. Laura Hochstetler got the win on the mound scattering seven hits and allowing one run with 4 K’s and 5 walks.
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IMS is 12-14 and will play Highland tomorrow night at 7 pm at Riverside.

Megan Haifley

Meredith Schrock

A great team effort!

A game well played.

Softball scores big win on senior night!

Jul 1

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IMS 13  Pekin 1

The IMS softball team played host to the Southeast Iowa Super Conference third place Pekin Panthers on Thursday night taking the field for the last time during the regular season.  IMS started out the evening by honoring their five seniors before the game.  Once the game got started you could tell IMS was all business – led by the seniors.  Pekin was set on ruining these seniors night as their second batter singled center and reached third on an error.  So with one out and and the runner on third it looked like Pekin was poised for a big inning but instead IMS held them to one run and retired the next two batters with the highlight play coming from Megan Haifley on a hot shot to third that she calmly gloved and threw to first.  IMS came out with bats blazing in the bottom half of the inning when four of the first five batters reached base –  three of which were hits.  IMS would score three runs in the inning to make it a 3-1 game. 

The next inning Pekin again had a one out hit to put a runner on first.  But the IMS defense ended the inning with a double play when the runner on first led off too much and on the strike out, catcher Jacayla Litwiller threw her out.  The IMS offense continued to roll in the bottom half of the second inning.  Keilah Brokaw got things going with a lead off base hit, then the next two batters walked to load the bases.  IMS scored one run on a passed ball and then another on a sacrifice by Olivia Yutzy  to make it 5-1. Then Haifley came through at the bat for the second time to score the next two runs making it a 7-1 game heading into the top half of the third inning.  Again Pekin was determined and with a one out walk to put a runner on first it looked like they might be poised to add some runs.  A ground ball to third allowed IMS to get the lead runner which gave them two outs.  After Pekin stole consecutive bases putting a runner on third the next batter walked and stole second making things interesting with two outs and runners on second and third with Pekin’s best hitter up. On this night it seemed as though things were clicking and Laura Hochstetler came through striking her out on four pitches to end the inning and keep the score at 7-1.  IMS was again ready at the plate.  Naomi Miller got things going with a lead off walk.  The next batter was Mo Brenneman who laid down a bunt right back to the pitcher. Instead of giving up Brenneman decided that she was going to beat it out and did just that –  putting runners on first and second with no outs.  Olivia Yutzy walked to load the bases and Gretchen Geyer reached on a fielders choice scoring the first run of the inning.  Two more runs would score before the first out making it an 11-1 game.  After a pitching change the IMS bats came out again with three consecutive singles to end the game at 13-1 in three innings. 

“This was a game where we took advantage of some of their mistakes and put a lot of hits together.  We had been hitting the ball pretty hard the last few games but just weren’t finding the holes. Tonight we found some holes!  I am pleased that we could send the seniors out with a game that they will remember.  This was a good win for us to end the regular season. Hopefully we can use it to gain momentum as we head toward tournament,”  said Head Coach Chris Nachtigall. 

IMS was lead at the plate by Megan Haifley 2-3 2 runs 3 RBI’s; Meredith Schrock 2-3 1 runs 2 RBI’s; Mo Brenneman 1-2 2 runs; Olivia Yutzy 1-2 2 runs 1 RBI; Laura Hochstetler 1-2 2 RBI’s; Keilah Brokaw 1-2 1 Run; Emma Yutzy 1-2; Casey Perez 1-1; Gretchen Geyer 1-1 3 runs 1 RBI; Naomi Miller 2 walks 2 runs;  Pitching Laura Hochstetler 2 htis 5 K’s 2 Walks 0 earned runs.
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IMS is 11-14  (10-8 SEISC) andwill play next Thursday at home in the opening round of tournament at 7 pm.

Seniors Megan Haifley, Meredith Schrock, Coach Chris Nachtigall, Emma Yutzy, Mo Brenneman, Gretchen Geyer

The five senior players and their parents were honored at the game.

Softball gets 10th win of the season Tuesday evening

Jun 29

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IMS 7  Louisa Muscatine 0

Iowa Mennonite picked up their 10th win of the season last night in Letts shutting out the Falcons in seven innings.  The first three innings were fairly uneventful for both teams as IMS struggled to find holes in the L&M defense, hitting the ball hard numerous times right at people.  On the other side L&M struggled to figure out IMS pitcher Laura Hochstetler as she struck out seven of the first nine batters.  IMS got things going in the top of the fourth with two runs.  Gretchen Geyer and Megan Haifley both were able to cross home to make it a 2-0 game.  The IMS defense continued to make it tough for L&M as they only had four base runners the entire night and only two runners in scoring position.  IMS added two more runs in the top of the fifth inning and three more in the top of the seventh to make it a 7-0 ball game.  L&M was able to put the bat on the ball in the bottom half of the seventh coming up with two of their three hits to put runners on first and second with two outs but were unable to get any runs across. 

“I thought we took care of business tonight.  We played solid on defense and were able to get runs across that we needed to.  L&M plays hard and made some nice plays on some hard hit balls that would have allowed us to plate a few more runs. This can get a team down but we fought through that and made the plays we needed to,”  commented Head Coach Chris Nachtigall. 

IMS was led at the plate by Megan Haifley 2-4 2 runs, 3 RBI’s; Meredith Schrock 2-4 1 RBI; Gretchen Geyer 1-2 4 SB 2 Runs; Mo Brenneman 1-3 2 Runs, 1SB; Olivia Yutzy 1-3 1 Run 1RBI; Naomi Miller 1-3 1 SB.  Laura Hochstetler pitched a 3 hit shutout and had 13 strikeouts and 1 walk. 

IMS is 10-13 (9-8 SEISC) and will play at IMS against West Branch and Thursday evening they again play at home against Pekin. Senior players and parents will be recognized  for Senior night between the JV and varsity game.