Metro Sports Report

Mount Mercy women battle to 1-1 draw

SIOUX CITY - The Mount Mercy women's soccer team battled Briar Cliff on even terms for 110 minutes Monday.

The season opener for both clubs ended in a 1-1 tie in double-overtime in Sioux City.

Briar Cliff took a 1-0 lead in the 37th minute. Megan Hall countered for Mount Mercy in the 63rd minute and nobody else scored after that.

32 players have joined IWSL for 2019

Thirty-two players have registered for the Iowa Women's Softball  League for the 2019 campaign as of Aug. 27, giving the program a big head-start for next season.

Maleah Georgen of Luther, Paige Timmerman of Luther and KyLeigh Becker of Loras have joined the Eastern Division in Cedar Rapids. Megan Rushing of South Dakota State, Izzy Collins of Southeastern Community College and Lexi Merritt of Grand View have enrolled in the Central Division in Indianola.

This early registration period is intended for all players who participated in the IWSL this past season. If returning players register by Aug. 31, they will receive a 50 percent discount and pay $50 instead of the regular $100 player fee.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Anyone who registers between Sept. 1 and Dec. 31 will get a 25 percent discount and pay $75, whether they've played in the IWSL before or not. And anyone else who registers between Jan. 1 and April 30 will be charged the full $100.

IWSL enjoys Hall of Fame game

The Iowa Women's Softball League put an exclamation point on the 2018 campaign Saturday by playing an exhibition game at Ellis Park as part of the Cedar Rapids Softball Hall of Fame festivities.

The National League team defeated the American League, 4-1, before a nice crowd that enjoyed watching college softball players from a mixture of state institutions.

Lauren Kuch of Kirkwood gave the National League a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning with a two-run single. The Nationals made it 4-0 in the fifth inning on a single by Tianna Drahn of UNI, an RBI double by Avery Guy of DMACC, a single by Kuch and an RBI single by Emily Oler of Mount Mercy.

The American League team scored its run in the seventh inning on a consecutive infield singles by Tawny Menster of Mount Mercy, Maddy Ryan of Coe and Brie Tauber of Clarke, followed by a bases-loaded walk by Abby Downs of UNI with nobody out.

Emma Olejniczak of UNI worked out of further trouble with the tying runs on base with a ground ball and two fly balls to end the game.

Wertz leads Mount Mercy golfers

Allyson Wertz of Mount Mercy fired a 4-over-par 76 to claim medalist honors at the Early Bird Classic at Hunters Ridge on Sunday.

Mount Mercy, which hosted the event, won the team championship by 16 shots over Central College.

Natalea Cook of Mount Mercy finished second in the individual standings with a 7-over 79.