Storm drop two at Coe

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- One day after a pair of one-run wins over Nebraska Wesleyan, the Simpson softball team suffered two close losses at Coe, falling 4-2 in game one and 4-1 in the nightcap.

The Storm are now 20-14 overall and 6-8 in the Iowa Conference, good for fifth-place in the standings with two games remaining. The Kohawks improved to 19-11 overall and 7-3 in the league.

Game One

Coe 4, Simpson 2

Alyssa Olson struck out 13, Madi Miller and Maddy Ryan homered in the first inning and Coe held on to beat Simpson 4-2 in game one.

Arianna Kim hit an RBI double in the top of the sixth to pull Simpson within 4-2 but Olson retired the next four batters to close the complete-game win.

The second batter of the game for the Kohawks, Miller opened the scoring with a two-run homer after Haley Jones drew a leadoff walk. Ryan hit a solo shot to left one batter later for an early 3-0 lead.

Ashley Allen hit a sacrifice fly in the third to put the Storm on the board, but a pair of strikeouts ended the threat. The promising inning ended with just one run after the Storm put runners at second and third with no outs.

Bell retired 12 of the next 15 batters after Ryan's homer but was chased after giving up back-to-back doubles and back-to-back walks in the fifth.

Top Offensive Performances
Madison Rasmusson — 2-3
Arianna Kim — 1-3, 2B, RBI
Ashley Allen — 0-1, SAC, RBI

Pitching Breakdown
Emily Bell — L (11-5), 4.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 4 Ks
Kelli Hanson — 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 Er, 0 BB, 1 K

Game Two

Coe 4, Simpson 1

Bailey Smith held Simpson to two hits and Anna Simon hit a two-run homer to put the game away in the sixth as Coe completed the doubleheader sweep with a 4-1 win in game two.

Coe led 2-0 with two outs in the bottom of the sixth when Simon hit a pinch-hit homer to left-center. Simpson scored on Taylor Davis' RBI goundout in the seventh but Smith coaxed a groundout to end the rally one batter later.

Allen had both hits for the Storm, the second coming on a double with one out in the seventh. The double is her 17th of the season, one shy of tying the school single-season record.

Mary Leopold suffered the loss, giving up four runs -- all earned -- off eight hits in six innings. She settled down after a rough first inning in which she gave up two runs off four hits.

Top Offensive Performances
Ashley Allen — 2-3, 2B
Taylor Davis — 0-3, RBI

Pitching Breakdown
Mary Leopold — L (4-3), 6.0 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

Up Next
Simpson closes the regular season Saturday, April 28 when it hosts Luther in an Iowa Conference doubleheader. Start time is set for 2 p.m. from Simpson Softball Complex. The start time is one hour later than originally scheduled in order to accommodate Simpson's commencement ceremony earlier in the day.