[Softball] No. 22 Grand View Softball takes two from Clarke

Dubuque, IA – No. 22 Grand View Softball swept Clarke 2-0 Wednesday afternoon in a two-game series.  The Vikings defeated Clarke 8-0 in game one and claimed game two 7-3. Grand View advances to 24-4 overall record and 14-2 in the conference. 

Game One | Grand View – 8, Clarke – 0 |

The Vikings started off the day strong after Lexi Merritt (SO/Waukee, IA) hit a double in her first at-bat and Claudia Farrell (SR/Des Moines, IA) earned an RBI after bringing her in. GV scored two more runs in the first inning taking an early lead of 3-0 over the Clarke. In the top of the fifth inning, Farrell hit a home run over right center to earn another run for the Vikings along with Kate Crow (SR/Ames, Iowa) hitting a double, bringing in Poortinga giving Grand View a 5-0 lead. 

Grand View had their biggest inning of game one in the seventh inning, scoring three runs on five hits. Stanzy Snyder (SR/Johnston, IA), Maddie Thilges (SO/Johnston, IA) and Merritt all drove in runs in the seventh.

The No. 22 Grand View had a total of 14 hits in the game. Merritt, Farrell, Kaylee Watson (FR/Stockport, IA), Crow, and Lauren Poortinga (JR/Des Moines, IA) each mustered up multiple hits for the Vikings. Merritt led the Vikings with three hits on five at-bats.

Claudia Farrell earned the win on the mound for the Vikings. Farrell did not allow a single run, walking zero, striking out 12 and only allowing one hit.

Game Two | Grand View – 7, Clarke – 3 |

The game remained scoreless until the fourth inning when Vikings earned seven runs on seven hits. Biehl led the inning off with a single followed by a home run from Poortinga. Merritt also smacked a home run in the fourth inning to earn a combined total of five RBI. The Pride answered in the sixth inning scoring three runs on three hits to bring the score to 7-3.

The Vikings outhit the Pride 11-5, committing zero errors. Poortinga and Kaylee Watson led Grand View offensively each collecting two hits at the plate.

Libby Yenger (JR/Indianola, IA) pitched all seven innings earning the win for the Vikings. Yenger surrendered five hits for the Pride and three runs. 

Up next ...

Vikings host Peru State College April 12 in a doubleheader with games starting at 3 pm. The Vikings defeated the Bobcats 8-0 and 7-0 earlier in the week in Peru, Nebraska.