Iowa Central head softball coach Bo Tjebben hopes the struggles he saw Wednesday are long forgotten when Saturday rolls around.
The Tritons put the finishing touches on their regular season here at Rogers Park, falling to Indian Hills. Scores were 12-3 and 17-6.
Next action for Iowa Central will be in the Region XI-B Tournament in Cedar Rapids on Saturday, as they open play with Ellsworth at 2 p.m. Kirkwood and North Iowa Area meet in the first game with the winners playing Sunday and the losers squaring off Saturday at 4 p.m. in an elimination game.
"We've got to focus in on Ellsworth and preparing for that," Tjebben said. "Everything that has happened to this point has hopefully gotten us ready to go to battle. I know we haven't played our best here down the stretch, but this team is very capable of running the table and advancing.
"We just have to play smart, play together and play one inning at a time."
Indian Hills used a six-run fifth and a four-run sixth to claim the opener. Loghen Schnetzer added to her single-season home run record with a solo shot while Mady Lange had two hits.
Rachel Newell had a hit, scored a run and reached on a walk while Abbie Thilges scored. Madison Huisman struck out three in five innings of work inside the circle.
In the nightcap, Iowa Central scored three in the first and two in the second to take an early 5-2 lead before the Warriors exploded for 10 runs in the fifth. Kenzie Rosenboom had a homer, finishing 2-for-4 with three RBI and two runs in her final home game.
Schnetzer drove in a pair with Abby Wilson, Lange, Paytton Crawford, Allyson Stewart and Newell each recording a hit.
"We just let it get away from us there in the fifth," Tjebben said. "We've had several games where one inning has really done us in."
During the regular season, Iowa Central and Ellsworth split four meetings in Iowa Falls. The Tritons won game one, 8-5, the Panthers took the second (14-13) and third (7-3) before Iowa Central finished off the series with a 22-7 triumph.
"It's just about doing the little things and focusing on each pitch and each swing," Tjebben said. "Postseason softball is a wild game and anything can happen."
Indian Hills is coached by Lindsey Diehl, who spent four seasons as an assistant coach for the Tritons. She has led the program since 2018.
-By Dana Becker