Baseball & Softball Weekly Recap
Articles by KCII & Photos by Giovanni Coronel/The News
July 11, 2025 – SOFTBALL
Bears Beat Hillcrest in Quarters, End Raven Regional Run
The 2025 softball season came to a close Wednesday for the Hillcrest Academy Raven softball team in an 11-3 defeat on the road against BGM. Hillcrest snagged an early lead with a single first inning run, but the Bears batted around in the second, scoring seven times, to take a lead they wouldn’t give up the rest of the night. BGM added two more in the third to make it 9-1. Hillcrest had a run each in the fourth and fifth and the Bears matched it with a two spot in the fifth to end the contest early. BGM out hit Hillcrest 10-5and drew four walks to the Ravens one. Delaney Shaw led Hillcrest hitters with two singles and an RBI. Kylee Statler also drove in one on a hit. Morgyn Nafziger and Stavia Miller each had a knock. Claire Withrow, Nafziger and Shaw each scored once. Malia Yoder started in the circle working one plus with three hits, five earned runs and a pair of walks. In relief, Ella Mize went three with seven hits, four earned runs, two walks and a K. Karagyn Minnaert led the Bears with the bat, accounting for three hits, three runs and two knocked in. Cara Arment was the winning pitcher, going all five with five hits, an earned run, walk and strikeout. BGM improves to 18-6 and hosts local school Highland in the 1A Regional Semifinals tonight.
The Ravens end the year at 13-15, their highest win total in 14 years, and second most in school history. Hillcrest says goodbye to seven seniors including Kylee Statler, Malia Yoder, Hailey Chalupa, Morgyn Nafziger, Delaney Shaw, Erin Bontrager, and Lydia Beachy.
July 9, 2025 – BASEBALL & SOFTBALL
Hillcrest Baseball Rallies Past in Highland in District Semis
The Hillcrest Academy Ravens overcame a late deficit to defeat the Highland Huskies 8-4 last night in the Class 1A District 9 baseball semifinals.
Each team scored twice in the first inning, with Hillcrest collecting three straight hits to start the game and scoring twice in the top half but committing three errors that led to two Highland runs in the bottom of the first.
The game stayed tied until the Huskies struck for two runs in the bottom of the fifth, but the Ravens responded by scoring twice in the next half-inning to even the score again, and they would come up with four runs in the top of the seventh to seize the lead before closing out the game in the bottom half.
Rowan Miller pitched the final two innings for Hillcrest and racked up five strikeouts to go with no hits allowed. The junior also hit two doubles, scored a run and had one run batted in from the lead-off spot in the lineup.
Junior Lincoln Milller and seniors Seth Ours and Mason Bender added two hits and one RBI each, while seniors Liam Schrock, Mason Helmuth and Phoenix Anderson each scored a run to go with a base hit.
Sophomore Rylan Good scored twice and had one hit for the Ravens, who improve to 15-7 with the victory. After the game, head coach Danny Hershberger told KCII Sports that his whole lineup contributed to a comeback win.
“The guys did a great job of battling and sticking with it,” Hershberger said. “To see up be able to get a couple [of runs] there in the sixth [inning] to tie the game back up, and then have some really good at-bats against a good pitcher there in the seventh, was huge for us. It was really fun to watch our guys string together those hits there late.”
Meanwhile, Highland got a base hit, two runs scored and one run batted in from senior Ryker Miller at the plate, while junior pitcher Bryce Hazelett allowed just three earned runs over the first six innings on the mound.
Unfortunately, it was not enough to keep the Huskies from ending the season with a record of 12-10. Highland will be losing six seniors next year, including Miller, William Dunbar, Landon Bell, Logan McFarland, Colten Sypherd and Sage Hartley-Norman.
Meanwhile, Hillcrest Academy advances to the next round of the substate playoffs, as they will play in the 1A District 9 championship game Saturday night against the Sigourney Savages.
Ravens Squeeze By Bravettes in Regional Opener, Face BGM in Quarters Wednesday
It was an exciting start to the Class 1A regional tournament for the Hillcrest Academy Raven softball team Monday night, as they walked-off the Montezuma Bravettes 11-10 in Kalona. After a Monty first inning run, Hillcrest scored twice in the first and three times in the second to build a 5-1 lead. The Montezuma answer was three in the third and two more in the fourth. The Ravens added a third inning tally and when the dust cleared through four, both teams were even at six. Following a scoreless fifth, the haymakers began again late. Each team dropped a pair of runs in the sixth, leaving the game even at eight into the seventh. Montezuma pushed Hillcrest to the brink, scoring twice in the top half. Down to the final three outs of their season, a furious Raven rally saw them stay alive to tie the contest, and Malia Yoder walk it off on a squeeze bunt that scored Morgyn Nafziger. This week, Hillcrest head coach Kent Blossom joined the KCII PM Sports Page to talk about the game, his team, the rally, the winning play and celebration.
Blossom said, “(Going to the seventh) I just told the girls, this is our opportunity. We got this! Stay within ourselves. Fortunately for us, we were able to score those two runs to tie it and put Morgyn (Nafziger) in a position at third base with one out and Malia (Yoder) and Delaney (Shaw) coming up. Malia put the bunt down, and with the speed of Morgyn at third base it was going to take a pretty incredible play by them to get her out. To end it like that, at our place, with a postseason win, is pretty tremendous! To come back together, rally and get that win is pretty special! Early, Ella Mize came through with a base hit to score two runs. Similarly, Claire Withrow had a base hit that scored two runs early. Annika Schrock had a multi-hit game. Stavia Miller had two hits as well. Combine that with the quality at the top of the order with Delaney, Malia and Morgyn, I can see why we had a good offensive night.”
Hillcrest out hit Monteuzma 12-9. Each team drew four walks. Yoder’s three hits, and three RBI, including the game-winners, with two runs scored led the way at the plate. Nafziger scored three times, her third run being the difference. Claire Withrow and Ella Mize each drove in two. Withrow had two hits. Annika Schrock and Stavia Miller finished with two hits and two runs each. Miller had an RBI. Yoder went six in the circle with eight hits, seven earned runs, four walks and five Ks. Mize entered and got the final three outs, allowing a hit and an unearned run with a strikeout.
With the win, Hillcrest is now into the Class 1A Regional Quarterfinals tonight, facing a road trip to BGM. The Ravens are 13-14 on the season. They hit .298 as a team with a .421OBP, .376 slug, 196 runs, 211 hits, 140RBI, 130 walks and 208 strikeouts. They have three players at .300 or better led by Delaney Shaw with a .526 average, 35RBI and 32 runs. Malia Yoder has 44 hits. Ella Mize is at .342. In the circle, Mize and Yoder have combined for a 3.55ERA, two WHIP, .228 opponent average, 206 hits, 103 earned runs, 85 walks and 139 strikeouts. BGM is 17-6 this year, they were fourth in the South Iowa Cedar League with an 11-5 mark. They have been off since a July 3rd regular season win over South Tama. The Bears hit .338 as a team with a .414OBP, .426 slug, 179 runs, 209 hits, 131RBI, 76 walks and 115 strikeouts. Individually, six are at .300 or better, led by Emersyn Minnaert’s .423 average, 30 hits and 28 runs. Mya Beck has driven in 24. In the circle, Sophia Petsche and Cara Arment have combined on a 2.64ERA, 1.37WHIP, .215 opponent average, 115 hits, 52 earned runs, 74 walks and 157 strikeouts. The Bears have won the only recent meeting between the two schools 12-0 in 2019. The winner of tonight’s game is into the regional semis Friday against the winner of Highland and North Linn. Action starts tonight at 7p.m. At BGM High School.
July 8, 2025 – BASEBALL
Highland and Hillcrest Advance to Tuesday Night Rematch on KCII
The Hillcrest Academy Ravens (14-7) and the Highland Huskies (12-9) both won via the run rule in Riverside Monday night, setting the sides on a collision course for their third matchup of the season on Tuesday.
The Ravens led off the night against the HLV Warriors (6-11) with an early lead, taking advantage of three first-inning walks and two first-inning errors to establish a 4-0 lead. Star Ravens pitcher Seth Ours surrendered a moonshot home run in the top of the second, but his offense immediately picked him back up, plating a trio of runs off of four more walks in the bottom half of the frame.
The Ravens put the rest of the game on cruise control, as Ours regained his usual dominance, allowing only a single base runner in the final four innings in the form of a walk. Hillcrest continued to tack on runs, extending the lead inning-by-inning, until a Mason Bender sacrifice fly plated Phoenix Anderson to make the score 12-2 and end the game.
Ours earned the win for his efforts, surrendering two runs, both earned, on two hits and one walk while picking up three strikeouts.
Offensively, eight of the nine Ravens in the lineup both reached base and scored. Lincoln Miller led the way with three RBIs and a run scored in a two-for-three effort, while Mason Bender flipped his line, scoring three times and knocking in one RBI on a one-for-three night, reaching on a walk and a fielders’ choice in the process.
In the nightcap, English Valleys (0-18) briefly showed a spark, leading off the game with back-to-back hits and jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning, but that was where the positives ended for the Bears.
Highland rattled off 17 unanswered runs, knocking starting pitcher Will Luers out of the game after recording just a single out. A flurry of free bases helped the Husky offense, as they reached base on seven hit by pitches, four walks and three errors. They plated six runs in the first inning, three in the second, and eight in the fourth to mercy rule the Bears in four innings with a final score of 17-2.
Every Husky either scored a run or recorded an RBI Monday night, with catcher Garrett Beeson leading the way with three RBIs. Ryker Miller was similarly effective, scoring three runs while knocking in a pair of runs in a one-for-two effort.
Colten Sypherd earned the win, giving up two runs on two hits and one walk while collecting five strikeouts in four innings of work. Sypherd described what it’s like pitching with an offense as potent as Highland’s was Monday night, “It’s electric. We just keep going and going and going. You don’t know what the next hitter’s going to do and it’s a guessing game of what’s going to happen.
Highland will look to avenge its losses to Hillcrest Tuesday night. The Ravens secured the Southeast Iowa Superconference North Division Championship by winning back-to-back games over Highland late last month.
Lincoln Miller described what he thought the Ravens would need to do to come out victorious on Tuesday, “We’re going to come out early, come out hard and play our game.”
The second round between the division rivals will be broadcast on FM 106.1, with the KCII Area Game of the Week Pregame show beginning at 6:30 p.m. and first pitch between the Ravens and Huskies scheduled for 7 live from Riverside.
Photos by Giovanni Coronel/The News
Softball Photos
Baseball Photos
July 11, 2025 – SOFTBALL
Bears Beat Hillcrest in Quarters, End Raven Regional Run
The 2025 softball season came to a close Wednesday for the Hillcrest Academy Raven softball team in an 11-3 defeat on the road against BGM. Hillcrest snagged an early lead with a single first inning run, but the Bears batted around in the second, scoring seven times, to take a lead they wouldn’t give up the rest of the night. BGM added two more in the third to make it 9-1. Hillcrest had a run each in the fourth and fifth and the Bears matched it with a two spot in the fifth to end the contest early. BGM out hit Hillcrest 10-5and drew four walks to the Ravens one. Delaney Shaw led Hillcrest hitters with two singles and an RBI. Kylee Statler also drove in one on a hit. Morgyn Nafziger and Stavia Miller each had a knock. Claire Withrow, Nafziger and Shaw each scored once. Malia Yoder started in the circle working one plus with three hits, five earned runs and a pair of walks. In relief, Ella Mize went three with seven hits, four earned runs, two walks and a K. Karagyn Minnaert led the Bears with the bat, accounting for three hits, three runs and two knocked in. Cara Arment was the winning pitcher, going all five with five hits, an earned run, walk and strikeout. BGM improves to 18-6 and hosts local school Highland in the 1A Regional Semifinals tonight.
The Ravens end the year at 13-15, their highest win total in 14 years, and second most in school history. Hillcrest says goodbye to seven seniors including Kylee Statler, Malia Yoder, Hailey Chalupa, Morgyn Nafziger, Delaney Shaw, Erin Bontrager, and Lydia Beachy.
July 9, 2025 – BASEBALL & SOFTBALL
Hillcrest Baseball Rallies Past in Highland in District Semis
The Hillcrest Academy Ravens overcame a late deficit to defeat the Highland Huskies 8-4 last night in the Class 1A District 9 baseball semifinals.
Each team scored twice in the first inning, with Hillcrest collecting three straight hits to start the game and scoring twice in the top half but committing three errors that led to two Highland runs in the bottom of the first.
The game stayed tied until the Huskies struck for two runs in the bottom of the fifth, but the Ravens responded by scoring twice in the next half-inning to even the score again, and they would come up with four runs in the top of the seventh to seize the lead before closing out the game in the bottom half.
Rowan Miller pitched the final two innings for Hillcrest and racked up five strikeouts to go with no hits allowed. The junior also hit two doubles, scored a run and had one run batted in from the lead-off spot in the lineup.
Junior Lincoln Milller and seniors Seth Ours and Mason Bender added two hits and one RBI each, while seniors Liam Schrock, Mason Helmuth and Phoenix Anderson each scored a run to go with a base hit.
Sophomore Rylan Good scored twice and had one hit for the Ravens, who improve to 15-7 with the victory. After the game, head coach Danny Hershberger told KCII Sports that his whole lineup contributed to a comeback win.
“The guys did a great job of battling and sticking with it,” Hershberger said. “To see up be able to get a couple [of runs] there in the sixth [inning] to tie the game back up, and then have some really good at-bats against a good pitcher there in the seventh, was huge for us. It was really fun to watch our guys string together those hits there late.”
Meanwhile, Highland got a base hit, two runs scored and one run batted in from senior Ryker Miller at the plate, while junior pitcher Bryce Hazelett allowed just three earned runs over the first six innings on the mound.
Unfortunately, it was not enough to keep the Huskies from ending the season with a record of 12-10. Highland will be losing six seniors next year, including Miller, William Dunbar, Landon Bell, Logan McFarland, Colten Sypherd and Sage Hartley-Norman.
Meanwhile, Hillcrest Academy advances to the next round of the substate playoffs, as they will play in the 1A District 9 championship game Saturday night against the Sigourney Savages.
Ravens Squeeze By Bravettes in Regional Opener, Face BGM in Quarters Wednesday
It was an exciting start to the Class 1A regional tournament for the Hillcrest Academy Raven softball team Monday night, as they walked-off the Montezuma Bravettes 11-10 in Kalona. After a Monty first inning run, Hillcrest scored twice in the first and three times in the second to build a 5-1 lead. The Montezuma answer was three in the third and two more in the fourth. The Ravens added a third inning tally and when the dust cleared through four, both teams were even at six. Following a scoreless fifth, the haymakers began again late. Each team dropped a pair of runs in the sixth, leaving the game even at eight into the seventh. Montezuma pushed Hillcrest to the brink, scoring twice in the top half. Down to the final three outs of their season, a furious Raven rally saw them stay alive to tie the contest, and Malia Yoder walk it off on a squeeze bunt that scored Morgyn Nafziger. This week, Hillcrest head coach Kent Blossom joined the KCII PM Sports Page to talk about the game, his team, the rally, the winning play and celebration.
Blossom said, “(Going to the seventh) I just told the girls, this is our opportunity. We got this! Stay within ourselves. Fortunately for us, we were able to score those two runs to tie it and put Morgyn (Nafziger) in a position at third base with one out and Malia (Yoder) and Delaney (Shaw) coming up. Malia put the bunt down, and with the speed of Morgyn at third base it was going to take a pretty incredible play by them to get her out. To end it like that, at our place, with a postseason win, is pretty tremendous! To come back together, rally and get that win is pretty special! Early, Ella Mize came through with a base hit to score two runs. Similarly, Claire Withrow had a base hit that scored two runs early. Annika Schrock had a multi-hit game. Stavia Miller had two hits as well. Combine that with the quality at the top of the order with Delaney, Malia and Morgyn, I can see why we had a good offensive night.”
Hillcrest out hit Monteuzma 12-9. Each team drew four walks. Yoder’s three hits, and three RBI, including the game-winners, with two runs scored led the way at the plate. Nafziger scored three times, her third run being the difference. Claire Withrow and Ella Mize each drove in two. Withrow had two hits. Annika Schrock and Stavia Miller finished with two hits and two runs each. Miller had an RBI. Yoder went six in the circle with eight hits, seven earned runs, four walks and five Ks. Mize entered and got the final three outs, allowing a hit and an unearned run with a strikeout.
With the win, Hillcrest is now into the Class 1A Regional Quarterfinals tonight, facing a road trip to BGM. The Ravens are 13-14 on the season. They hit .298 as a team with a .421OBP, .376 slug, 196 runs, 211 hits, 140RBI, 130 walks and 208 strikeouts. They have three players at .300 or better led by Delaney Shaw with a .526 average, 35RBI and 32 runs. Malia Yoder has 44 hits. Ella Mize is at .342. In the circle, Mize and Yoder have combined for a 3.55ERA, two WHIP, .228 opponent average, 206 hits, 103 earned runs, 85 walks and 139 strikeouts. BGM is 17-6 this year, they were fourth in the South Iowa Cedar League with an 11-5 mark. They have been off since a July 3rd regular season win over South Tama. The Bears hit .338 as a team with a .414OBP, .426 slug, 179 runs, 209 hits, 131RBI, 76 walks and 115 strikeouts. Individually, six are at .300 or better, led by Emersyn Minnaert’s .423 average, 30 hits and 28 runs. Mya Beck has driven in 24. In the circle, Sophia Petsche and Cara Arment have combined on a 2.64ERA, 1.37WHIP, .215 opponent average, 115 hits, 52 earned runs, 74 walks and 157 strikeouts. The Bears have won the only recent meeting between the two schools 12-0 in 2019. The winner of tonight’s game is into the regional semis Friday against the winner of Highland and North Linn. Action starts tonight at 7p.m. At BGM High School.
July 8, 2025 – BASEBALL
Highland and Hillcrest Advance to Tuesday Night Rematch on KCII
The Hillcrest Academy Ravens (14-7) and the Highland Huskies (12-9) both won via the run rule in Riverside Monday night, setting the sides on a collision course for their third matchup of the season on Tuesday.
The Ravens led off the night against the HLV Warriors (6-11) with an early lead, taking advantage of three first-inning walks and two first-inning errors to establish a 4-0 lead. Star Ravens pitcher Seth Ours surrendered a moonshot home run in the top of the second, but his offense immediately picked him back up, plating a trio of runs off of four more walks in the bottom half of the frame.
The Ravens put the rest of the game on cruise control, as Ours regained his usual dominance, allowing only a single base runner in the final four innings in the form of a walk. Hillcrest continued to tack on runs, extending the lead inning-by-inning, until a Mason Bender sacrifice fly plated Phoenix Anderson to make the score 12-2 and end the game.
Ours earned the win for his efforts, surrendering two runs, both earned, on two hits and one walk while picking up three strikeouts.
Offensively, eight of the nine Ravens in the lineup both reached base and scored. Lincoln Miller led the way with three RBIs and a run scored in a two-for-three effort, while Mason Bender flipped his line, scoring three times and knocking in one RBI on a one-for-three night, reaching on a walk and a fielders’ choice in the process.
In the nightcap, English Valleys (0-18) briefly showed a spark, leading off the game with back-to-back hits and jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning, but that was where the positives ended for the Bears.
Highland rattled off 17 unanswered runs, knocking starting pitcher Will Luers out of the game after recording just a single out. A flurry of free bases helped the Husky offense, as they reached base on seven hit by pitches, four walks and three errors. They plated six runs in the first inning, three in the second, and eight in the fourth to mercy rule the Bears in four innings with a final score of 17-2.
Every Husky either scored a run or recorded an RBI Monday night, with catcher Garrett Beeson leading the way with three RBIs. Ryker Miller was similarly effective, scoring three runs while knocking in a pair of runs in a one-for-two effort.
Colten Sypherd earned the win, giving up two runs on two hits and one walk while collecting five strikeouts in four innings of work. Sypherd described what it’s like pitching with an offense as potent as Highland’s was Monday night, “It’s electric. We just keep going and going and going. You don’t know what the next hitter’s going to do and it’s a guessing game of what’s going to happen.
Highland will look to avenge its losses to Hillcrest Tuesday night. The Ravens secured the Southeast Iowa Superconference North Division Championship by winning back-to-back games over Highland late last month.
Lincoln Miller described what he thought the Ravens would need to do to come out victorious on Tuesday, “We’re going to come out early, come out hard and play our game.”
The second round between the division rivals will be broadcast on FM 106.1, with the KCII Area Game of the Week Pregame show beginning at 6:30 p.m. and first pitch between the Ravens and Huskies scheduled for 7 live from Riverside.
Photos by Giovanni Coronel/The News
Softball Photos
Baseball Photos