The Iowa Falls-Alden softball team recently completed a season where they won the most games since 2021 at 10-12. They played several close games, and were 6-5 in games decided by one or two runs.
“Outside of St. Edmond, we were able to be every other conference team at least once, and I don’t know the last time that that’s happened, so that was really exciting,” Head Coach Emily Banken says. “And that only happened because the girls were able to compete. In years past when we fell behind at the beginning, they would kind of roll over, get a little bit flat, but this year they just kept working at it. One run at a time is what we would talk about, and they were able to do that. I think they had a lot more fun when they were able to compete and play some close games against pretty good teams.”
Sophomore outfielder Isabelle Janssen was a North Central Conference first team all-conference selection, going 26 for 27 on stolen bases and batting .457. Senior pitcher Cidni Phipps was a second team all-conference pick, posting a 2.88 ERA with 65 strikeouts in conference play. Janssen also pitched in 10 games in preparation for likely being next year’s primary pitcher.
“Cid’s been our leader on the mound for the last few years, and she definitely did that again this year. She’s not necessarily the most vocal athlete, but she’s such a good leader as far as just her actions and she’s very steady on the mound. And then Izzy’s kind of opposite of that. She’s a little bit more fiery, and so it’s kind of fun to see the difference in those two when they’re playing the same position. I was excited to get Izzy some varsity time on the mound this year because she’ll probably step into that role in the future. But overall, we rely on those two on both sides of the ball, and I think they did a good job for us.”
They went 7-7 in conference play to place fifth.
Emily Banken interview:
