WF softball snaps skid, splits at home tournament

At the beginning of last week, the West Fork softball team had a rough patch, winning just one of their last three games. Even though the skid continued, the Warhawks were able to return to the win column and gain back some lost ground.

In their third week of play, the Warhawks dropped their first three contests, falling to Osage in an 8-3 decision on June 7 at the West Fork Baseball/Softball Complex in Sheffield and almost defeating North Butler in a 6-5 affair on June 9 in Allison. The Warhawks couldn’t knock off No. 11-ranked (Class 1A) Clarksville, coming up short in an 11-4 game in Clarksville, before coming back with a 7-0 victory over Nashua-Plainfield this past Friday in Sheffield.

At their home tournament, which took place this past Saturday at the West Fork Baseball/Softball Complex in Sheffield, the Warhawks split their twinbill by handling Belmond-Klemme via an 8-3 victory, before dropping a 16-1 matchup against Columbus Catholic of Waterloo.

Following their weekend round robin at home, the Warhawks moved to a 3-5 mark within the Top of Iowa Conference’s East division and 5-8 overall.

The load lightened up a little bit for the Warhawks this week, starting with a road trip to Riceville, held this past Tuesday at the Riceville Athletic Complex. The Warhawks then followed this up by traveling to Rockford in the second game of their season series, held this past Wednesday in Rockford.

In their previous encounter, West Fork sounded defeated the Warriors, 12-1.

On Thursday, West Fork returns home, welcoming in AGWSR for a nonconference matchup at the West Fork Baseball/Softball Complex in Sheffield.

Before the weekend, the Warhawks will take on Northwood-Kensett at 6 p.m. on Friday at the Northwood-Kensett Athletic Complex in Northwood. This will be their second meeting of the 2021 season, with West Fork taking the first game with a 10-1 victory.

Osage 8, West Fork 3: Starting off the week at home, the Warhawks couldn’t quite contain the Green Devils, falling in a Top of Iowa Conference-East matchup held on June 7 at the West Fork Baseball/Softball Complex in Sheffield.

Trailing 7-0 midway through the fifth inning, West Fork began to mount a comeback, plating two runs in the bottom of the frame. After scoring another run in the bottom of the sixth inning, the Warhawks cut their deficit down to four heading into the final inning.

Osage countered with an insurance run, and kept West Fork from a late rally, which handed the Warhawks their second straight loss.

Junior Maddie Hubka led West Fork at bat, collecting three singles and one RBI. Eighth grader Libby Trewin recorded a double and single, while striking out seven Green Devils from within the circle.

Fellow eighth grader JoAnna Wallace contributed with an RBI, as senior Sadie Latham, sophomore Keelee Sheriff and freshman Mallery Meier each picked up hits and stolen bases against Osage.

Junior Madisyn Bonner also tabbed a stolen base for the Warhawks.

North Butler 6, West Fork 5: Taking on the Bearcats on the road, the Warhawks came close to victory, before seeing their skid extended to three games in a Top of Iowa Conference-East contest, held on June 9 at the North Butler Summer Sports Complex in Allison.

Tied at 1-1 at the end of the first inning, the Bearcats turned in runs in the third and fourth innings. Down by two runs midway through the sixth, the Warhawks rallied, plating four to take a narrow 5-3 lead.

North Butler responded with a comeback of their own, scoring two to keep West Fork from returning to the win column.

Wallace continued to impress for West Fork, tabbing two RBIs and two singles. Hubka chipped in with two singles, followed by hits from Latham, Bonner, Libby Trewin and Meier.

Despite taking another loss while toeing the rubber, Trewin fanned seven Bearcats in 110 pitches.

Clarksville 11, West Fork 4: Continuing their road trip, the Warhawks’ comeback efforts fell short against the 11th ranked Indians in a nonconference game held on June 10 at Volunteer City Park in Clarksville.

Facing a 7-0 deficit at the start of the fourth inning, West Fork fought back, plating two runs to cut the Indians’ lead to five runs. Clarksville tacked on another run in the bottom of the frame, followed by four runs in the bottom of the fifth and one score in the bottom of the sixth inning.

The Warhawks didn’t give up, rattling off two runs in their final frame. However, the Indians put the brakes on the comeback attempt, handing West Fork their fourth straight loss.

Wallace kept West Fork going against the defending Class 1A champions, belting a two-run roundtripper – the first home run in her career. Meier went a perfect 3-of-3 with an RBI, while Libby Trewin netted a double and an RBI.

From the circle, Libby struck out five Clarksville batters.

Junior Kalli Trewin and Bonner each came away with singles, and the latter tabbed the Warhawks’ lone stolen base.

West Fork 7, Nashua-Plainfield 0: After a four game absence, the Warhawks finally returned to the win column, shutting out the Huskies in a Top of Iowa-East contest held this past Friday at the West Fork Baseball/Softball Complex in Sheffield.

Leading 1-0 in the second inning, the Warhawks got their sticks going with four runs. From there, West Fork scored insurance runs in the bottom of the fifth and sixth innings to hand the Huskies their fourth straight loss.

Both Kalli Trewin and Libby Trewin spearheaded West Fork’s efforts, with two RBIs each. Kalli Trewin also picked up a stolen base in the win, and Libby Trewin fanned seven Nashua-Plainfield batters and allowed just two hits.

Wallace went a perfect 3-of-3 at the dish with a stolen base, as senior Makenzie Fessler churned out a double, a single and stolen base against the Huskies. Hubka came away with an RBI, a single and a stolen base, while Sheriff was credited with an RBI.

Bonner and Latham each had singles against Nashua-Plainfield.

West Fork 9, Belmond-Klemme 3: Welcoming in the Broncos for the first game of the West Fork Tournament, the Warhawks extended their win streak to two, in a nonleague matchup held this past Saturday morning at the West Fork Baseball/Softball Complex in Sheffield.

Down by one run in the bottom of the third frame, the Warhawk sticks came alive, plating five runs within the inning. Two innings later, West Fork continued where they left off, scoring four runs to hold a 9-1 advantage.

Even though the Broncos scored two late runs, the Warhawks were able to preserve their lead and take in a win.

No stats were released as of press time.

Columbus Catholic 16, West Fork 1: In their final game of the West Fork Tournament, the Warhawks couldn’t quite keep up the No. 10-ranked (Class 2A) Sailors in a matchup held this past Saturday afternoon at the West Fork Baseball/Softball Complex in Sheffield.

Columbus Catholic came out hot in the first three innings, building up a 7-0 lead midway through the third inning. While West Fork did capture a run in that frame, the Sailors continued to pile on runs before snapping the Warhawks’ two-game win streak.

No stats were reported as of press time.