Women's Summer Collegiate Fast-Pitch Softball League

Women's softball games canceled due to heat

Mon - 12 Jun Written by Metro Sports Report

All of Sunday's games in the Iowa Women's Softball League were canceled due to the extreme heat.

The league will return to action on Sunday, June 18 with doubleheaders at Kirkwood and Coe at 2 p.m.

Construction Materials plays Ironside Apparel at Kirkwood, while Emil's Hideaway plays Hawkeye Convenience Stores at Coe.

STANDINGS

Ironside Apparel 4-0, Hawkeye Convenience Stores 2-2, Emil's Hideaway 1-3, Construction Materials 1-3

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Morgan Christner of Illinois State fires a pitch for Construction Materials during Sunday's action in the Iowa Women's Softball League at Coe. (MSR photo by Margaret O'Banion)

Pitching shines in MSR softball league

Sun - 04 Jun Written by Jim Ecker

If you like good pitching, plan to stop by Kirkwood or Coe this summer and catch some of the action in the new Iowa Women's Softball League.

It's smoking!

We've got Jaclyn Spencer and Brooke Craig of UNI, Emily Ira of Western Illinois, Kelsey Aikey of Western Kentucky, Morgan Christner of Illinois State, Lexi Kinnaird and DoniRae Mayhew of Kirkwood and Chelsea Thornley of Webster University, among others.

They'll blow you away.

Ira tossed a two-hitter with 10 strikeouts Sunday as Hawkeye Convenience Stores blanked Emil's Hideaway, 5-0, in the first game of their doubleheader at Kirkwood.

Aikey came right back in the second game and tossed a three-hitter with 12 strikeouts as Emil's Hideaway took the nightcap, 2-1. Taylor Nearad of Kirkwood, Megan Bonnett of Luther and player/coach Shelby Crist had two hits for Emil's in the victory.

In the ballgames at Coe, Hailey Duwa of Western Illinois socked a three-run homer to give Construction Materials a 4-3 victory over Ironside Apparel in the first game of their twinbill.

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Jaclyn Spencer of UNI (12) is congratulated by teammates after hitting a two-run homer for Ironside Apparel Sunday at the Kirkwood field. Brittney Roby of UNI (7, left) and Haley Jones of Coe (4, right) are part of the welcoming party. (MSR photo by Margaret O'Banion)

New softball league enjoys fast start

Sun - 28 May Written by Jim Ecker

The big smiles and all the thank-you's told the story Sunday afternoon as the new Iowa Women's Softball League was warmly embraced by players, coaches, fans and the local media.

The Opening Day doubleheaders at the Kirkwood and Coe diamonds marked the beginning of the only fast-pitch summer softball league for college players in the entire state.

College softball players finally have a summer league of their own, and from the looks of things the program will grow in future years as the word continues to spread and players enjoy the games.

The Iowa Women's Softball League was created and organized by theMetro Sports Report with a lot of terrific help from college coaches, good friends and especially by the players themselves.

There are players from 23 different colleges and 34 different high schools in the league, with a nice mixture of NCAA, NAIA and Junior College players.

For the record, Ironside Apparel swept a doubleheader from Emil's Hideaway Restaurant, 3-2 and 8-4, in a pair of well-played games at Kirkwood.

Hawkeye Convenience Stores and Construction Materials split a twinbill at Coe, with Hawkeye Convenience Stores taking the first game 4-3 and Construction Materials winning the second game 10-0 behind a shutout by Kirkwood ace Lexi Kinnaird.

Jaclyn Spencer, a star pitcher for the University of Northern Iowa, tossed six shutout innings for Ironside Apparel in its 3-2 victory in the first game. Spencer struck out 10 batters and spaced three singles.

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Taylor Nearad, shown here in action this season for Kirkwood, is one of 52 players who will be participating in the Iowa Women's Softball League, which begins play on Sunday. (MSR photo by Margaret O'Bannion)

College softball league begins Sunday

Fri - 26 May Written by Jim Ecker

The idea for the Iowa Women's Softball League began last summer when I asked Joe Drahozal what his daughter, Erin, was doing for softball while she was on vacation from Upper Iowa University.

Joe's answer surprised me: Erin would not be playing softball during the summer, except for individual workouts, because there were not any women's collegiate fast-pitch softball leagues in Iowa.

Well, there is now.

The new Iowa Women's Softball League will swing into action this Sunday afternoon with doubleheaders at Kirkwood Community College and Coe College at 2 p.m.

There are 52 players and four teams in the league. That number includes 46 active college players and six former college players who are anxious to get on the field again.

It's taken nearly a year of planning and preparation by the Metro Sports Report and friends, but Opening Day is fast approaching and everyone is ready to roll.

As president of the Metro Sports Report , I'd like to personally thank all the college coaches for their support. We have players from 23 different colleges and they hail from 34 different high school programs.

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