Photos Courtesy of Hillcrest Academy Yearbook

The Hillcrest Academy Raven softball team finished the week with back-to-back Southeast Iowa Superconference victories over Pekin and WACO by a combined 32-7 score. The Ravens pounded the Panthers Thursday, 19-6 in just five frames. The Raven Lumber company went to work early, scoring three in the first, following that was a dominating dozen more runs in the second to open a 15-0 lead, before ending action early with four runs in the fifth. Hillcrest had 13 hits and capitalized on 11 walks and three Panther errors. Eleven different Ravens scored, 10 had hits and eight drove in runs. Malia Yoder had a three hit night, driving in four and scoring three times. Delaney Shaw knocked in a pair and scored twice on a hit. Hailey Chalupa delivered two RBI on a hit. Claire Withrow had an RBI on two hits and scored twice. Kylee Statler, Erin Bontrager, Lydia Beachy and Stavia Miller each drove in one on a hit. Withrow, Morgyn Nafziger, Adrianne Blauvelt, Beachy and Miller each scored twice. Statler, Bontrager, Marie Yoder and Addison Miller each scored a run. Malia Yoder went the distance in the circle with six hits, two earned runs and seven punchouts in five frames.

Friday, the Ravens raced past the WACO Warriors 13-1 in Kalona in just three innings. WACO scored first but the Raven response was swift, with three runs in the bottom of one to take the lead for good, followed by five in each of the second and third innings to end proceedings early. Hillcrest had six hits, and took advantage of 10 walks from Warrior pitching and an error. Withrow and Malia Yoder each drove in a pair on one hit with Malia Yoder scoring once. Statler, Shaw, Bontrager and Stavia Miller all had single RBI. Shaw had two hits, Statler and Blauvelt each had one. Shaw and Stavia Miller scored three times, Nafziger twice and once each for Statler, Marie Yoder, Beachy and Nour Ayoub. Malia Yoder was again the winning pitcher with three innings, no earned runs, three hits and seven Ks. Hillcrest is now 3-1 on the year with a trip to Louisa-Muscatine Tuesday.