Kirkwood softball team aims for 40 wins

A pair of away games on Tuesday against Southeastern Community College were cancelled, which means the Kirkwood Community College softball team will have to wait one more day for another chance to top the 40 wins mark for the fourth consecutive season.

The ninth-ranked Eagles are now 39-8 and second in the conference with a 17-5 record, trailing only Iowa Central Community College.

Kirkwood notched four conference wins last weekend, scoring in the double digits in three of the four games. The first two victories came against Iowa Lakes Community College on April 21 by the scores 11-1 and 6-3.

Four Kirkwood players combined for five home runs in the 11-1 win.  Sophomore Jenny Nelson hit two of her season total 19 home runs in the game. Freshman pitcher Kelsie Campbell was awarded the wins as pitcher.

North Iowa Area Community College came to Cedar Rapids the following day on April 22 where the Eagles defeated NIACC handily by the scores 14-0 and 10-1.

Freshman Kayla Tatge hit two home runs during the day to bring her total for the season to 18. Campbell added two more wins for the season to put her record at 16-4.

Kirkwood won both of its games in the Kirkwood Tournament held at home on April 15. The Eagles landed a 5-2 win against Kishwaukee College and a 5-0 victory against Mineral Area College.

Sophomore Nicole Fisher leads the Eagles in home runs with 24. Fisher, Nelson, and Tatge all place in the top seven for total home runs in the nation.

Kirkwood pitcher Catie Flaucher leads the nation in strikeouts per inning, averaging 1.593. Flaucher has amassed a 22-3 record as pitcher this season.

The Eagles have two chances to upset No. 4 ranked Iowa Central on the road in a doubleheader on April 28. Kirkwood wraps up the regular season at Southwestern Community College on April 29. The first round of the regional tournament is on May 4.