The softball playoffs are back in southeast Iowa and a pair of KCII area teams are facing off in the first round Monday when Highland hosts Hillcrest Academy. The Huskies come into the game with an overall record of 8-6. The Huskies last played a week ago, taking a 10-6 win over Mediapolis, led by Dani Laughlin with four hits and four runs scored. On the year, the Huskies are hitting .317 as a team, led by Laughlin at .592, second in Iowa in class 1A. She has 29 hits, 16 runs scored and seven driven in. In the circle the Huskies have a team ERA of 3.69, led by Jessica Kraus at 1.68 in 33 and a third innings worked with a 2-3 overall record. Grace Batcheller leads the Huskies with a 6-3 record and 3.77 mark. This week, Highland head coach Carrie Wieland talked about her team’s recent play and the game against the Ravens. “It’s been a good week, it’s been a hot week but we have had a really great set of practices. We just need to get our defense ready and that will set us up well for Monday.”

Hillcrest comes into tonight after finishing an 0-11 regular season with a 10-2 loss to Montezuma Friday in Kalona. On the season, the Ravens are hitting .153 overall led by Sarah Miller with a .286 average. She has eight hits, and an RBI. Esther Hughes has nine total hits and five runs scored to lead the Ravens including a home run and an RBI. In the circle, Leah Bontrager has thrown all 61 innings on the season, she has an 0-11 record with a 7.46 ERA. Head coach Kent Blossom spoke with KCII sports in the postgame Friday about the improvements his team has made this year looking ahead to the playoffs. “We’ve been taking a slightly different approach at the plate over the last week. Quicker hands, quicker bat through the zone to get the barrel to the ball and it’s working. Ten total hits is a big number for us or any team in a game. Leah has done a great job in the circle. She has been a rock all year. Tonight the defense played great behind her with no errors. I love the energy that the team is playing with right now. They are giving their best, they are having fun and that’s all you can ask for going into a playoff matchup with a conference rival Monday in Highland. We are going to give our all and go after it.”

These two teams met to open the regular season with Highland taking a 12-0 win in four innings led by Kayla Cerny with three hits and two RBI. Grace Batcheller got the win in the circle with four innings thrown and seven strikeouts. You can hear all of the action live tonight between the Huskies and the Ravens on AM 1380, FM 102.5 and KCIIradio.com, beginning with the Washington HyVee pregame show at 6:30 and first pitch at 7p.m. from Riverside.