Iowa gets it done, uses pitching, timely hitting to win
Published 12:00 pm Friday, March 25, 2022
- Iowa’s Arlee Darbonne delivers a pitch against host South Beauregard during a District 4-3A softball game Thursday afternoon in Longville. Darbonne pitched a complete game in a 4-1 victory. (Rodrick Anderson / American Press)
LONGVILLE — Iowa has used the long ball effectively this high school softball season, but the Yellow Jackets didn’t need it Thursday evening.
Senior Arlee Darbonne kept hard-hitting South Beauregard in check and Kylie Boudreaux had a big first-inning hit to spark Iowa’s 5-1 win to open District 4-3A play.
“This was a huge relief, knowing that we got over this mountain,” Iowa head coach Kenzie Singletary said. “We should be able to play loose, relax and get through the rest of district.”
Darbonne struck out four, walked one batter, scattered five hits and pitched a complete game. She gave up one big hit, a solo home run by Louisiana-Monroe signee Emelie Price in the fourth inning.
“She was focused today,” Singletary said of Darbonne. “She knew she had one job to do, and she came here and did it.
“We know what their lineup is like, so we were definitely strategic in pitching to those kids. Arlee did a great job keeping them off balance.”
With two outs in the first inning, Boudreaux hit a triple to right-center field and scored on Kamryn Howard’s double. Cydni Reed’s RBI single gave the Yellow Jackets a 2-0 lead.
“That was big, especially after our first two outs,” Singletary said. “The three-hole came up with two outs and got it going, and it seemed to keep the fire going right there.”
Alivia Singletary hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth, Andie Huval added an RBI double in the sixth, and Iowa picked up a run in the fifth on an error to extend its win streak to nine.
The loss ended a 10-game win streak for defending district champ South Beauregard.
“We didn’t make adjustments very well at the plate,” South Beauregard head coach Karlee Campbell said. “We have been doing pretty well, but today it didn’t work out.
“We have to make them early. We have done really well at the plate but I don’t know if we were just all pumped up, us being at home or all the people in the stands. I don’t know if that got us some jitters, but it is not over. We still have a lot of season left.”
South Beauregard got two runners on in the bottom of the seventh inning, but Emma Huber’s towering fly ball was caught at the right-field wall by Reed.
