Falcon summer teams return to NICL-Central action with Monday doubleheaders
The Aplington-Parkersburg summer sports teams will host Hudson in their NICL-Central home openers Monday.
In a battle between teams with win streaks, the Falcon baseball team will look to extend a six-game streak against the four-game win streak of the Pirates. At 6-1 overall, the Falcons lead the Central with a 3-0 league record. Junior Devin Davis says the hot start comes as no surprise, and is confident his team will solidify itself as one of the best in the conference.
"We came into the season knowing we were this good," Davis says. "Dike-New Hartford has lost to Columbus, who we beat twice. We know we can beat anyone in the conference. We're going to keep doing our thing."
Head Coach Brett Kleespies acknowledges it’ll be a tough league race, but knows his team can use its experience to its advantage.
"We've got to put ourselves in the driver's seat and not let other people dictate what we can do as a team," Kleespies says. "We have to perform within ourselves. In our conference, we kind of just beat up on each other. You look at the other sides of the conference, and they're beating up on each other. You have to play your best every night. That's what we tell the guys, to perform within themselves and gel as a team."
The Pirates are 5-3 overall and 1-2 in the NICL-Central. They’re coming off dominant performances at their home tournament on Saturday, where they beat Iowa Falls-Alden 10-1 and Gladbrook-Reinbeck 15-3. Camden Davis has stepped up as a tough out at the plate with a .500 average through seven games. The Falcons took two of three in last year’s series.
The Falcon softball team will look to remain hot after picking up its first two wins at Saturday’s GMG Triangular. At 2-5 overall, it’ll be an opportunity for the first conference win after dropping the first three. Junior Kendall Riherd leads a team of mostly underclassmen with a .500 average in 14 at-bats.
The Pirates are 3-8 overall, and are seeking their first conference win after dropping their first four league games. However, momentum is building after a 2-1 outing at Saturday’s home tournament. Eighth grader Taylor Davis has emerged as the team’s batting leader with 15 hits and a .455 average. Hudson has won 14 straight in the series, a streak that began in 2016.
The first game of both doubleheaders will begin at 5:00 p.m.
