Coe starves Simpson comeback to win twice on Sunday

INDIANOLA, Iowa - The Simpson softball team dropped both sides of their American Rivers Conference doubleheader to the hot-hitting Kohawks of Coe College on Sunday afternoon. The Storm rallied back from a six-run deficit in game one but ultimately fell 7-6 before losing 7-3 in the nightcap.

The Kohawks (12-6, 7-3 A-R-C) racked up 26 hits between the two games while the Storm (7-10, 5-6 A-R-C) tallied 12 in the opener but were limited to just five in the second contest.

Megan Crockett led the Storm offense with four hits including a two-run homer in the nightcap that gave Simpson an early lead. Randie Richmond tallied three hits, while Sara Trent, Maddie Luderman, Camrey Leo and Taylor Stamm each finished with multiple hits as well.

Game One: Coe 7, Simpson 6
The Storm tied the game up at 1-1 in the bottom of the second thanks to a run-scoring single off the bat of Richmond. Jessica Cruz rounded home on the play after entering the game as a pinch runner for Taryan Barrick-Wessels who also singled in the inning.

In the top of the third frame, the Kohawks exploded for six runs on seven hits and a pair of Simpson errors to grab a 7-1 lead. Simpson chipped away at the deficit by scoring on a wild pitch in the third before Trent hit a bomb to left center to plate three in the sixth to hand the Storm some hope heading into the final inning.

Trailing 7-5, Leo kicked off the last-chance rally with a double to left center and Crockett continued the momentum with a base-hit to center field to give Simpson runners at the corners with nobody out. Leo then made the trip home on Brooke Tucker's sacrifice to deep center field and Crockett moved into scoring position with her first stolen bag of the season.

The Storm managed to get the game-winning run on board when Emily Bell was hit by a toss from Hannah Ausenhus, but the starting pitcher quickly recovered and coaxed back-to-back foul outs to put an end to the Simpson comeback.

Game Two: Coe 7, Simpson 3
Crockett wasted no time getting Simpson on the board in game two as the senior sent one over the fence in the first inning to score herself and Leo, who was hit by a pitch in the Storm's previous at-bat.

The Kohawks managed to knot the score at 2-2 on a two-run double in the second frame before using two unearned runs in the fourth to take a 4-2 lead. Luderman pulled Simpson within one with her fourth long ball of the season in the bottom half, but Coe held the home team scoreless the rest of the way while adding three insurance tallies for the 7-3 win.

Up Next
Simpson and Coe will finish the three-game series on Monday beginning at 4 p.m.