Mid-Prairie was winning game one of a doubleheader against West Branch 9-1 before sophomore Brenna Jehle stepped to the plate. 

With the bases loaded, Jehle stepped into the right-handed batters’ box and fouled off her first swing, just late. A minor correction in her swing would see the next pitch leave the park, a walk-off grand slam with the whole team celebrating at home plate while Jehle cleared the bases, rounding home.

It took just four innings for the Golden Hawks to win game one with a 12-run mercy rule ending, winning 13-1. They raked in the runs, five in the first, four in the third and fourth.

Sophomore Sydney Knebel pitched game one, earning the win while allowing three hits and striking out five. The bats were hot, seeing eight hits with 10 RBIs, five coming off the bat of Jehle who between the two games had a single, two doubles and a grand slam.

The bats were also patient. Both Dakota Mitchell and Olivia Swartzendruber forced two walks. Swartzendruber scored three runs while Mitchell rounded the bases twice. Mitchell added an RBI to boot. Sophie Miller, Hannah Sellers, Knebel and Madeline Schrader all added one RBI to their totals.

Game two of the doubleheader was no different, seeing the Hawks win 12-0 after four innings. This one ended less dramatically, a wild pitch getting away from the West Branch pitcher and allowing senior Molly Yoder to score an easy twelfth run.

Each game, the Hawks started very fast, setting the pace. To head coach Amy Hartsock-Williams, it is a mindset for the team.

“It’s just a mindset. Sometimes it’s luck and sometimes we work really hard on our hitting, and we work really hard on being patient and disciplined and very hard on mechanics,” Hartsock-Williams said. “We have two excellent assistant coaches that really work mechanics. [Bunting] is starting to become effective for us, moving runners, so they’re really taking it all in and just making improvements every night.”

Game two saw three Hawks have multi-RBI games, Jehle, Knebel and Swartzendruber, all with two. The team had eight more hits and 10 more earned runs. Freshman Kadence Grout started on the mound, pitching a four-inning shutout with three strikeouts and only two hits.

These two wins accounted for the Hawks fifth straight win after a 1-1 start on the season. They did everything right.

Unfortunately, their next two doubleheaders scheduled against Tipton and Burlington were canceled due to weather. The Hawks still made it to the Iowa City West Softball Classic on June 3, but were just one of two teams competing, losing their only game to Western Dubuque to break the win streak.

The Hawks also got a chance to play in the Hawkeye Softball Complex against the Washington Demons that same day, losing 8-3. Despite the loss, the Hawks had reason to celebrate, watching Knebel knock her first varsity homerun.

Mid-Prairie tied the game at three in the top of the fifth before Washington exploded for their second three-run inning, following it up with two more, to take the eventual win.

Mid-Prairie @ Wilton double header 6/5/23

Mid-Prairie’s good fortune ended when playing a strong competitor in the Wilton Beavers. The Beavers took each game, winning game one 4-2 and game two 11-6. The Hawks held a lead in each game, holding a 1-0 lead in game one before a three-run fourth for the Beavers. In game two, the Hawks were up 3-0 before a four-run second for Wilton, each game not looking back after they took the lead.

These two losses drop the Hawks to a 6-5 season record. Their conference record drops to 4-3.

Miller leads the team in hits with 18. Sellers is right behind with 17. Jehle still leads in RBIs with 16, one more than Knebel. Knebel leads the team on the mound with 43 strikeouts and a 2.65 ERA in her six starts. Grout has started five times on the mound.

So far this season it’s been a team effort. They have a team batting average of .381, 102 total hits and 77 earned runs.

The Hawks will play West Burlington at home on June 7 before heading on the road for Wilton on June 8. After this, the Hawks have a six-day break between games before another matchup with the West Branch Bears.