It was a strong start to the 2020 campaign for the Keota baseball team, as they opened with a season opening 9-6 victory over South Iowa Cedar League foe North Mahaska on Monday night. 

The Eagles struck first with a crooked number in the second to take a 5-0 advantage. The Warhawks chipped away throughout the night and cut the deficit to 7-6 in the sixth, but a pair of insurance Eagle runs in the bottom half gave them some breathing room and the victory. Colten Clarahan, Carson Sprouse, and Cole Kindred teamed up on the bump for a collective seven innings of giving up just two earned runs, six hits, and striking out 12. Keota managed nine hits led by Nolan Verstraete going 3-for-4 with one RBI and Clarahan added a pair of knocks with three runs driven in. 

The Eagle softball team got in a hole early and could not recover in a 13-0 loss in five innings to the Warhawks. The boys open the year 1-0 with the girls at 0-1 and both squads return to the diamond tonight at HLV.