Less than 24 hours earlier, second-ranked Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont couldn't buy a big hit.

Saturday morning at Oskaloosa, senior Haegen Boyer had three run-scoring hits of her own in the very first game of Indian softball team's home classic. Boyer cracked three home runs in the first of three wins for second-ranked (2A) EBF (8-3) as the Rockets beat Pella (12-2), Mount Vernon (10-9) and Newton (15-0).

The victories were the perfect remedy for the state championship hopefuls, who suffered a disappointing South Central Conference home loss on Friday night to Centerville. Freshman pitcher Alyssa McElvain worked around eight hits by EBF, stranding 12 Rocket baserunners in a 1-0 Redette victory.

"That loss kind of opened our eyes a little bit and that we need to focus in to get what we deserve," Boyer said. "I was just focused from the first pitch I saw. Those are the kind of things that can happen when you're focused."

Cardinal, however, had a much different day at Oskaloosa. The Comets (1-13) lost to three teams from the Little Hawkeye Conference falling to the top-ranked (4A) Indians (13-0), Knoxville (13-1) and Pella Christian (8-2).

"The girls have gained something from every game they've been a part of. The biggest thing is that they've learned how to play together," first-year Cardinal head softball coach Sabrina Morrison said. "We've got young girls that just need to gain some more experience. We're just working on improving one game at a time."

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Rockets 3-0; Comets 0-3 at Osky Classic - Ottumwacourier