Opening day was a show of force for the Highland softball team Monday in Kalona as they posted a 17-0 win over Iowa Mennonite School in three innings.

Highland scored in each frame and batted around in both the first and third innings. In the third frame they sent 16 batters to the plate. The offensive outburst was highlighted by Abbie Miller who was four for four with seven RBI, hitting for the cycle in the contest. She talked after the game about the performance. “It felt pretty good. I didn’t know it was a home run right off the bat but when I saw coach Wieland’s reaction I knew it was a home run. I was trying to get a base hit and score some runs. I didn’t know I had a chance to hit for the cycle that wasn’t even on my mind. I think big offensive games like this are going to happen more this year because we have been practicing hard.”

Shalyn Kirk also played long ball, banging a two run homer off of the scoreboard in left field. In the circle, Megan Hoenig threw a shortened no-hitter. Leah Bontrager took the loss for IMS. Highland is now 1-0 on the year as IMS falls to 0-1.