Almost Perfect ... Again

COUNCIL BLUFFS, For the second game this season, Iowa Western Freshman Pitcher Olivia Dougherty faced one over the minimum in a 15-0 no-hit, run-rule victory over Southeast CC (NE).  Dougherty's first no-hitter of the season came back on March 16th in an 8-0 win over Johnson County CC (KS), issuing a walk in the top of the 6th for her only blemish of that contest.

Dougherty (8-4) hit the Bobcat's leadoff batter Gracie Moe with the first pitch of the game then proceeded to sit down the next 15 batters in a row, including a career and season-high 12 via strikeout, on 72 pitches.  This is the 6th game this season where Dougherty has struck out 10 or more batters to give her 117 this year.

The Reivers backed her up offensively with six runs in the first inning, three in the second, and six in the fourth. Catcher Lauren Black launched a pair of home runs over the left field scoreboard, including a grand slam in the bottom of the first for four of her six RBI in the game.  Kamira Botos went 3-4 with a double, 4 RBI, and 2 runs, and every batting position, one through nine, scored a run in the game.

Game two saw the Bobcats come out of the gates firing, scoring three runs on four hits in the first inning, then one run on two hits to chase Reiver starting pitcher Saydee Plummer from the game after just 35 pitches.

Iowa Western chipped away at the lead, scoring a run in the first, and two runs in the third, then tied the game at 4-4 in the 5th inning on an RBI single from Kiley Grubbs; she would go on to cap off a 4-run 6th inning with a 2-run single to make it 8-4.  Southeast's Seinna McEntire launched a solo shot over the center field wall in the top of the 7th, but Caedence Risius locked down the last two batters to earn her third win of the season.

Sophomore Allie Cromer added five hits on the day, including a pair of doubles and a triple to up her team-leading batting average to .472 while slugging .870.