Bell’s walk-off homer lifts Storm to doubleheader split with Central

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- Emily Bell put a bookend on game one with a two-run, walk-off homer to lift Simpson College softball to a 14-5 victory over Central to split its doubleheader on Wednesday. The Dutch won 8-5 in the nightcap.

The Storm (8-12, 6-8 A-R-C) erupted for six home runs and Central (7-6, 5-4 A-R-C) tallied three during the twinbill inside the Simpson College Softball Complex.

Simpson's game one victory stopped a 10-game losing streak to the Dutch and was the first triumph at home in the series since 2008.

Game One: Simpson 14, Central 5 (6 innings)
The Dutch struck early in the first inning with a blast and added a run in the third to make it a 2-1 contest.

In the bottom of the third, the first three batters for Simpson reached base to collect some momentum. Megan Crockett stepped into the batter's box before unloading the bases with one swing for her fifth homer of the season. Later in the frame, Randie Richmond plated two on an RBI double and Sara Trent drove in Richmond to make it a 7-2 game.

Central trimmed the deficit in the fourth with a two-run bomb. Taryan Barrick-Wessels wanted to join the party and ripped a two-run shot to extend the tilt to 10-4 in the bottom half of the inning.

Simpson took advantage of the run-rule by plating four runs in the sixth to end the game early. Karlie Hill drove in two with a homer before Bell clubbed her first roundtripper of the season.

Brooke Tucker received her first victory inside the circle for the Storm while hurling a complete game. Tucker was aided by the offense smashing 16 hits to tie a season high. Half of those hits went for extra bases.

Game Two: Central 8, Simpson 5
The Dutch found its stride in game two by scoring seven runs through the first two frames. Frannie Burnett mimicked Crockett in the second inning with a grand slam of her own.

Camrey Leo broke up the no-hitter and shutout in the fourth inning with a solo shot to deep center. Leo padded her stats once again the following inning, this time with a two-run homer to left to make it an 8-3 contest.

The Storm tallied two runs in the sixth on a pair of RBI singles from Crockett and Hill. Simpson had a chance to tie the game in the seventh with the bases full, but the runners were stranded to end the comeback.

Trent, Crockett and Hill all had three base knocks as the team finished with 13.

Bell entered the circle in the second and only allowed one run to score during her 5.1 innings of work. The senior struck out nine batters while giving up just one hit.

Up Next
The two American Rivers Conference foes meet tomorrow night at 5 p.m. to close out the season series.