Photo Courtesy of Rachel Knebel

The Mid-Prairie Golden Hawk softball team fell short in a pair of contests at No. 4 in Class 2A Wilton Monday. Game one went the Beavers way 4-2. The Hawks led 1-0 with a single tally in the third. Wilton responded with a three spot in the fourth to take the lead for good. Mid-Prairie trimmed it to 3-2 with a run in the fifth, but Wilton added an important insurance run in the sixth and held down the Hawks the rest of the way. The Beavers out hit Mid-prairie 7-4. Dakota Mitchell drove in both of the Golden Hawk runs. Madeline Schrader had two hits and scored Mid-Prairie’s two runs. Sophie Miller and Sydney Knebel each added a hit. Knebel took the loss in the circle, spinning six innings, giving up seven hits, four runs, two earned striking out three.

In the nightcap, the Beavers scored an 11-6 victory. Again it was Mid-Prairie with the better of it early, leading 2-0 after one and 3-0 after one and a half. Wilton turned on the offense in the middle innings, scoring four times in the second and twice in each of the third and fourth frames to lead 8-4. Another Wilton rally put three more on the board in the sixth. The Hawks made a late push with a pair in the seventh, but fell short. Mid-Prairie out hit the Beavers 11-10, but couldn’t overcome six walks and four errors. Knebel belted a solo homer, finishing game two with two hits, two runs scored, and a pair driven in. Mitchell continued her big night with two more RBI. Miller smacked three singles and scored two runs. Olivia Swartzentruber also scored twice. Kadence Grout took the loss, working six innings, allowing nine hits, five earned runs, walking six and striking out five.

The Golden Hawks stand at 6-5 overall and 4-2 in the River Valley Conference, entering a Wednesday contest against West Burlington Notre Dame.