Van Meter softball wins 30th straight, baseball battles in WCAC

While a loss fell on the table this week, the Bulldogs’ season remained as exciting as ever. (Note: Games covered June 25-30)

Baseball (26-5)

The season’s second meeting with Des Moines Christian (27-2) proved even more intriguing than a typical matchup with the Lions.

After previously winning by one run on DMC’s field this year, the Bulldogs hosted the Lions on Saturday in a game that came down the final inning. With the score knotted at 1-1 after DMC immediately responded to Cole Moore’s run in the third inning, it was the Lions that scored the go-ahead run in the seventh inning for a 2-1 win to tie the season series, virtually ending the season in a deadheat in the WCAC.

With the loss, the needle didn’t move No. 4 Van Meter far on the polls but are now ranked behind the No. 2 Lions riding a 19-game win streak since that first meeting in June.

Thanks to a cancelled game Friday against Class 4A’s No. 2 Dallas Center-Grimes, the only other game on the card this past week was a 5-2 win over Earlham (11-12).

Down 2-1 in the first inning, the runs slowly built up the rest of the game with seven hits spread across seven batters. Jay Haley made the most of his hit, hitting his first triple of the season. Meanwhile, Moore improved his on-base percentage after drawing three walks in addition to one hit. He ranks second in Class 2A with a .667 OBP.

Softball (33-1)

The Bulldogs officially laid claim to the WCAC crown this year, staying undefeated in league play while also drawing the line in the sand against fellow Class 2A contenders.

Faced against 1A’s No. 11 Earlham on June 24, the Bulldogs earned a season sweep with a 10-0 win, propelled by Lauren Wallace’s first home run of the year. Two days later, Van Meter improved to 18-0 within the conference after adding a 14-0 win against Des Moines Christian (8-14), scoring 10 runs in the second inning alone. With only two league games remaining, the three game lead over Interstate 35 is impossible to lose.

Beyond those critical games, the Bulldogs notched its sixth win of the season against a 2A-ranked opponent- defeating No. 7 West Manona (27-6) by a score of 27-6 on Saturday. Finley Netten hit her team-leading eighth home run of the season.