PACKWOOD

The Pekin Panthers have been a thorn in the side of Hillcrest softball for a while but that changed last season when the Ravens got their first win over the Panthers since 2016.   

Now, in the middle of a slew of conference games, Hillcrest had an opportunity to show Pekin things wouldn’t return to the status quo. 

Ushering in a new standard, the Ravens scored early and often on the road to defeat the Panthers, 19-6, in five innings on May 30.

Hillcrest scored three runs in the first to take an early advantage, but their offensive explosion came in the second. In the top of the second the Ravens put up 12 scores to take what ended up being an insurmountable 15-0 lead. 

Battling back the Panthers scored once in the bottom of the second and combined for five more runs in the third and the fourth to cut their deficit to nine. 

Seeing their lead dwindle did not phase the Ravens, as they scored four more in the fifth and shut out Pekin to invoke the mercy rule and end the game early. 

Pitching all five innings for Hillcrest was junior Malia Yoder. Yoder ended with seven strikeouts, allowing six hits and walked no batters.  

Not just an ace at pitching, Yoder also made her mark in the batting department, leading the team in hits (3) and RBIs (4). As a team Hillcrest had 13 hits with 10 Ravens recording at least one hit.   

Hillcrest 13, WACO 1

Stringing together back-to-back wins for the first time this season, the Ravens just needed three innings to take down the WACO Warriors on May 31. 

This was Hillcrest’s first home win of the year, and it was the third time they have scored double digit runs. For the Warriors this loss keeps them winless on the young season with their record dropping to 0-4.

WACO scored first in this conference contest, but Hillcrest responded with three runs in the bottom of the first to take a lead they never relinquished. The Ravens scored five runs in the third and five more runs in the next inning to invoke the mercy rule to end the game early. 

Leading the Ravens in hits was Delaney Shaw with two. All recording one hit each was Kylee Statler, Claire Withrow, Malia Yoder, and Adrianne Blauvelt. Withrow and Yoder both lead the team in RBIs with two each.  

Pitching in three innings was Yoder and in those innings, she recorded seven strikeouts and only allowed three hits. 

Up next for Hillcrest (3-1) is a conference home game against the Wapello Arrows (3-5) on June 6.