Haskell softball defeats Kansas Christian College, wins back-to-back games for first time this season

Haskell Indian Nations University defeated Kansas Christian College twice in their latest series at home on April 16. This is the first time Haskell has won a home series on the new field, and the first time this season it has won back-to-back games. They won the first game 5-4 and the second game 7-5 to improve to 6-24 on the year.

The first game started off slow with the first run coming in the bottom of the second inning. Paizley Aldrich laid down a sacrifice bunt to score Maeshayla Tye to make it 1-0. KCC immediately responded with two runs in the next inning and would further add two in the fourth and fifth, making it 1-4. Haskell fought back in the bottom of the fifth with a new pitcher, and Abrianna Herrera hit a double that scored Ariana Munoz and Mariah Graves, making it a one-run game at 3-4.

In the top of the sixth inning, Haskell would get its very first double play on its new field to sit KCC down. Haskell would then score two runs off of Grace Greenwood’s line drive, getting Chasely Roberts and Aldrich home, taking the lead. KCC would go three up, three down in the seventh thanks to Graves securing Haskell its first win of the day, 5-4, with her pitching.

KCC would start off the next game by scoring two runs and putting Haskell in a hole early. Haskell would quickly get out of the hole with Abrielle Herrera getting Greenwood in, Roberts getting Graves in off an infield fly, and finally Aldrich getting both Abrianna Herrera and Abrielle Herrera home, putting Haskell up 4-2. Neither team could get anything going in the second inning.

Haskell would once again get hot in the bottom of the third with Greenwood hitting a flyball to score Celia Farrow and Abrianna Herrera walking in Ariana Munoz. For the last run, Haskell’s Abrielle Herrera got hit by a pitch to advance Greenwood home, cementing their 7-2 lead. KCC tried to claw its way back, getting a run in the fifth, sixth, and seventh to no avail as Haskell would win 7-5. This was Farrow’s first win at home this season in the circle.

Pitching was a huge part of this home series. Head coach Jolona Shield-Dzakic said the team was very intentional about the workloads for their two pitchers, Graves and Farrow.

“With our pitching staff, we are intentional about managing workloads and making sure they are getting proper recovery between outings,” said Shield-Dzakic. “We also focus on preparation and communication so they feel confident and ready each time they step in the circle.”