Opening up Class 3A Region 1 postseason action in dominant fashion Thursday night, the #14 Pella Christian softball team cruised to a 14-1 quarterfinal victory over Hampton-Dumont-CAL heard live on 92.1 KRLS.
The Eagles started the game strong, with Laurel Roozeboom leading off the bottom of the first with a single, and her courtesy runner Alaina Wiersma scoring on a Brynn Roozeboom single two batters later. Pella Christian’s offense carried that momentum into the second inning, sending 13 batters to the plate en route to scoring nine runs and grabbing a 10-0 lead. After the Bulldogs scored their lone run in the top of the third, the Eagles responded with four more runs in the bottom of the frame to pull ahead 14-1, before holding Hampton-Dumont-CAL scoreless in the fourth inning to complete the win.
Pella Christian had 13 hits as a team, led by 3-3 efforts from Laurel and Brynn Roozeboom. Brynn also had five RBIs and a run scored, while Laurel had two RBIs. In addition to her performance at the plate, Laurel also earned the win in the circle, striking out four across four innings while allowing just four hits and an unearned run. Finley Snyder added a 2-2 effort with a pair of doubles, a walk, and 3 RBIs. Chloe Snyder and Maddy Van Zee also reached base twice, with each reaching via a single and a walk, and scored four of the Eagles 14 runs. Chloe Snyder said it was good to begin the postseason off on the right foot.
“This game was a great starting game for us. It showed us what we need to work on tomorrow, just those little things to keep up. And it just shows us how much we can battle. In the beginning of our season, we played some hard teams, but we have really battled extremely well this year. We’re excited to keep going and we’re not really gonna think about it too much or break it down too much, because we know we can play softball and we’re going to bring everything we have.”
The Eagles improved to 17-10 overall on the season, and they will next host Class 3A #12 Roland-Story in the semifinals on Saturday. Coverage of Saturday’s semifinal matchup can be heard live on the KRLS2 stream, beginning with pregame at 6:30 pm. Find the full interview with Chloe Snyder below:
