IDA GROVE, Ia. — The Roland-Story Norsemen softball team returned to action on Friday and Saturday, as they competed in the OABCIG Tournament in Northwest Iowa. The Norsemen were joined by the host Falcons, as well as Carroll, Collins-Maxwell, MVAOCOU, Newell-Fonda, South Hamilton and Storm Lake.
Roland-Story opened the tournament by facing the Carroll Tigers, as following a scoreless first, the Norsemen offense sprung to life for 5 runs in the 2nd on an Ali Johnson bases-clearing double, an Evelyn Carlson RBI double and a Cece Doyle RBI triple as the Norsemen took a 5-0 lead. Roland-Story would tack on 4 more runs in the 5th on a Brookelyn Jondle 2-run RBI single and a Jenna Birkland 2-run RBI double as the Norsemen led 9-0. Carroll scratched a run across in the bottom of the 5th, but the Norsemen would force a 9-1, 5-inning victory.
Miley Geise was the winning pitcher, going 4 innings and allowing no runs on 1 hit and striking out 5, as Ali Johnson went 1-for-3 with a bases-clearing double, while Cece Doyle went 2-for-3 with an RBI triple.
Roland-Story was slated to face South Hamilton in the semifinals on Saturday, but due to rain, Roland-Story advanced to the championship automatically off of previously beating South Hamilton, as the Norsemen would face off with (1A) #7 Newell-Fonda. It would be a pitchers duel between the two sides, until Newell-Fonda got the Norsemen to blink in the 6th, as a solo home run gave the Mustangs the lead and the eventual win.
Miley Geise pitched exceptional despite the loss, going 6 innings and allowing 1 run on 4 hits and striking out 9. Keely Oberender would have a 2-for-3 day in the loss for the Norsemen.
Roland-Story softball returns to action on Monday, when they travel to Nevada to take on the Cubs in Heart of Iowa Conference action at Nevada High School, with first pitch at 7:30 PM.