FORT DODGE — Grand View Christian is taking full advantage of the new double-elimination format at the Iowa state softball tournament.
The top-seeded Thunder were upset by No. 8 seed Cardinal in the Class 2A bracket on Monday, July 20, at the Rogers Sports Complex. They suffered a 4-3 loss at the hands of the Comets.
Cardinal pitcher Maclain Hickenbottom held GVC to just four hits, posting nine strikeouts in the game.
“She threw very well,” said GVC coach Krista DeMeulenaere. “I give her all the credit. She threw a spectacular game. She kept us off balance. That’s a credit to her.”
GVC fell behind, 4-1, after giving up a run in the first and three in the top of the fourth. The Thunder scored in the first when Sophie Bird drove in a run, and they nearly rallied, with a chance to tie or take the lead in the fifth.
The Thunder scored three times in the bottom of the fifth after Harper Rosado and Grace Kruse each drove in a run. Grand View Christian had runners on second and third, with two outs, but Hickenbottom got out of the jam by forcing a ground out.
Hickenbottom rebounded to retire GVC in order in each of the final two innings to close out the victory.
Cardinal advances into the winners bracket of the 2A tournament with a 17-10 record.
Chloe Cox took the loss after giving up four runs on four hits with three walks and one strikeout in seven innings. Kruse, Cox, Leighton Beemer and Maiah Murphy each had one hit for GVC.
The Thunder will take a 27-4 record into the losers bracket of the tournament. DeMeulenaere grew up playing in double elimination tournaments during her high school years in Illinois before becoming a UNI Panther, so she is excited to have another opportunity on July 21.
“I love the double elimination,” DeMeulenaere said. “In 2015 I was here with Pella, and we won that first one, lost the second one and my girls were done because there was just nothing to play for. I like that every time we come out here to the field there is a chance to keep moving on.”
Even though GVC is a smaller 2A school, the Thunder have another varsity pitcher alongside Cox, eighth-grader Eperlie Weitzel, which will help them should they continue to advance throughout the tournament.
“You’ve got to try and develop a second pitcher,” DeMeulenaere said. “Not everybody is that lucky, but I think it will cause teams to work to develop a second pitcher.”
Joe Randleman covers high school sports for the Ames Tribune. Contact him at jrandleman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JoeRandleman
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Grand View Christian drops Iowa state softball tournament opener
