Hutchinson CC Sports Information

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – Bailey Backhaus set the table from the leadoff spot scoring four runs while Olivia Sandoval and Madi Divis followed with three hits each to lead the Hutchinson Community College softball team to a 6-2 victor over North Iowa Area Community College on Friday at the Iowa Western Reiver Softball Tournament.

The Blue Dragons wound up splitting the first two games on Friday, falling 7-2 to Indian Hills later Friday afternoon.

Now 13-5 overall, the Blue Dragons will play Iowa Western at 11 a.m. and Indian Hills at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

With hits in her first two at-bats on Friday, Blue Dragon freshman first baseman Brooke Backhaus ran her streak of consecutive hits to nine with a single and double against NIACC. Brooke Backhaus' streak started with a 7-for-7 doubleheader performance against Pratt on Tuesday at Fun Valley. The streak came to an end with a pop out in the fifth inning against NIACC.

HUTCHINSON 6, NIACC 2
Bailey Backhaus was just 1 for 3 against North Iowa Area, but was on base in all four plate appearances and scored four runs to lead the Blue Dragons.

Right behind Backhaus was Sandoval, who hit second in the Dragon lineup. She went 3 for 3 with a double, a run scored and an RBI to lead the Dragons' nine-hit attack.

The Dragons took a 3-0 lead after two innings. Sandoval's RBI double in the first inning started the scoring. The Dragons parlayed a NIACC error and a Divis RBI single into a two-run second and a three-run lead.

Divis went 3 for 4 and drove in two runs. She also had an RBI single in the sixth inning scoring Bailey Backhaus with Hutchinson's sixth run of the game.

Brooke Backhaus was 2 for 4 with a double. Alexis Mastin had an RBI with a sixth-inning sacrifice fly.

Morgan Tomlinson (4-1) pitched one inning in relief to earn the win. She allowed three hits, but no runs. Dakota Lake worked the final four innings to earn her fourth save of the season. She allowed one hit and one run with seven strikeouts.

Lake entered the game with no out and NIACC runners at second and third and got three-straight strikeouts to end the threat.

INDIAN HILLS 7, HUTCHINSON 2
The Blue Dragons out-hit Indian Hills 11-10, but stranded 14 runners on base.

Jaeleigh Darnell led the Blue Dragons, going 3 for 4 with RBI singles in both the first and sixth innings. Bailey Backhaus and Tamara Lozoya both had two hits.

The Blue Dragons trailed just 2-1 after three innings, but the Warriors broke the game open with a four-run fifth inning.

Jaala Nowlin (1-1) suffered the loss after 2 1-3 innings in the start. She allowed two hits, two runs and two walks while striking out two. Tomlinson worked 2 1-3 innings, as did Delaney Blakesley.