The Hillcrest Academy softball team looked poised to capture their first victory of 2021 on Wednesday in a makeup game with Mediapolis, but the visiting Bullettes had other ideas taking a 17-12 come-from-behind win. MEPO scored once in their half of the first and the Ravens responded with two in the bottom half and then sent 10 hitters to the plate in a six run second that saw them open up an 8-1 advantage. The Bullettes would chip away to pull within 8-6 going to the bottom of the fourth, but Hillcrest would answer again with one in the bottom of the fourth and three more in the fifth told a 12-6 lead going to the sixth. In their second to last at bat, MEPO scored seven runs to steal the lead, including a two-out, three-run homer by Hallie Mohr that gave them the lead at 13-12. MEPO would score four more insurance runs in their final at bat to finish the win. Despite the loss, Hillcrest head coach Kent Blossom spoke about the positives his team could take from the game. “I don’t want to diminish the accomplishments of the day. We had things going offensively. We don’t have any holes in the lineup and are putting together good at bats. Our defense also continues to improve and with our pitching we were hitting spots at times today. We just need to find another level in some of these aspects of the game to get over the hump and get a win.”

Hillcrest finished with nine hits, Mediapolis had 19. The Ravens were led at the plate by Esther Hughes with two hits, two runs scored and two driven in. Madeline Fox had two hits, drove in one and scored three times. Malia Yoder also drove in two. Leah Bontrager took the loss in the circle, going five and a third innings, giving up 13 runs. The Ravens are now 0-15 and will travel to Pekin tonight.