The Sigourney Savages started the softball playoffs with a convincing 9-0 victory over Holy Trinity Catholic in the Class 1A Region 8 quarterfinals last night. Sigourney grabbed an early lead and never looked back, as junior pitcher Carly Goodwin twirled another gem in the circle, yielding only two hits and striking out 13 batters in a complete-game shutout.

Freshman shortstop Kenzi VanDenHeuvel led the Savage lineup with four hits, including two doubles, and two runs scored. Despite neither having a hit, Goodwin and senior outfielder Rain Barthelman each came up with two runs batted in. Sophomore Josephine Moore added one hit and one RBI for Sigourney, which improves to 24-4. The eighth-ranked team in Class 1A will next face Wapello in the Region 8 semifinals Friday evening.

Savage baseball was not as fortunate, suffering a close 3-2 loss to Iowa City Regina last night in the 1A District 10 semifinals that ended their season. A base hit by junior outfielder Reid Molyneux drove in a pair to give Sigourney a 2-1 lead in the opening inning, but the Savages had just three hits the rest of the night, and Regina scored twice in the fifth to take the lead for good.

Despite the loss, sophomore pitcher Caden Clarahan had a solid outing, working around seven hits and four walks allowed to only give up three runs in five-and-a-third innings. The season concludes for the Savages with a record of 18-7. Sigourney will now say farewell to three seniors in Ty Shafranek, Max Phillips and Clayton Visser