AVOCA (June 22) -- IKM-Manning plated a pair of unearned runs in the top of the seventh Friday night to rally past the AHSTW baseball team, 2-1, in Western Iowa Conference action. The Wolves snapped a five-game losing skid in the process, improving to 4-12 overall and 4-10 in the WIC as junior Alex Lingle was the victor in a pitcher’s duel vs.

 AREA (June 25) -- The annual Western Iowa Conference Baseball and Softball Tournaments will be held this week, with the championship games slated for Thursday night in softball and Friday night in baseball. The 2nd-ranked (2A) IKM-Manning softball team, last year’s WIC Tournament champion, is unbeaten in conference play so far and will be the top seed.

 ELK HORN (June 21) -- Cole Madsen went 3-for-3 and Tyler Petersen pitched six innings for the win Thursday as the Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton baseball team snapped a four-game losing streak by topping Boyer Valley 9-4 in the rain. The Spartans (4-8 overall, 3-7 in the Rolling Valley Conference) actually led 11-4 when play was halted in the bottom of the sixth - still batting with two on and nobody out - but the official final score reverted bac

 HARLAN (June 18) -- Ryan Doran’s two-run homer highlighted a three-run first inning and Harlan Community pulled away with four runs in the fifth to beat Denison-Schleswig 9-3 in a midday Monday baseball game at Jim Goeser Field. The third-ranked (3A) Cyclones’ 12th straight victory completed a regular-season sweep of the Monarchs and improved their record to 14-2 overall and 13-0 in Hawkeye Ten Conference play.

 HARLAN (June 18) -- Denison-Schleswig ace pitcher Sarah Heilesen shut out the Harlan Community softball team on just one hit Monday and helped her own cause with a homer and three RBI as the 7th-ranked (4A) Monarchs blanked the Cyclones 6-0 to sweep the season series. Heilesen walked two and recorded nine strikeouts in the game, which started at 11 a.m. to avoid the late day storms.

 AUDUBON (June 19) -- It’s been fun, but individual milestone season is officially over for the Gross family and IKM-Manning softball. The only business at hand now is to keep winning games. IKM-M senior Peyton Gross, just five days after earning career pitching win number 100, surpassed 1,000 strikeouts Tuesday night as the second-ranked (2A) Wolves beat Audubon 12-0 in five innings to cap a season sweep and improve to 16-1. Gross pitched a o

 VAIL (June 19) -- The Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton softball team started fast with a four-run first inning and was able to hold off Ar-We-Va 7-4 here Tuesday to complete a Rolling Valley Conference sweep of the Rockets. Eighth-grade pitcher Macy Emgarten (6-7) worked all seven innings for the win, allowing 11 hits and four earned runs while walking two. The Spartans (7-8 overall, 6-4 RVC) also totaled 11 hits.

 AUDUBON (June 19) -- The IKM-Manning baseball team took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning but was held scoreless the rest of the way in a 6-2 loss at Audubon on Tuesday. The Wolves’ home games vs. Treynor Monday and Tri-Center Wednesday were both rained out. No make-up dates have been announced. IKM-M got on top early vs.

 LOGAN (June 19) -- AHSTW was held to just three singles by Logan-Magnolia’s Joel Richardson Tuesday night and finished on the short end of a 3-1 decision in Western Iowa Conference baseball action. The Panthers (9-11 overall, 7-8 WIC) scored two runs in the first and added one more in the third while Richardson shut out the Vikings (6-8, 4-8 WIC) until the top of the seventh when Gabe Madsen singled home Brody Langer. Joel Sampson added two h

 LOGAN (June 15) -- For six innings Friday night, IKM-Manning put runners all over the bases but couldn’t break through against Logan-Magnolia softball pitcher Reanna Rife. Down to their last three outs, the Wolves responded like a senior-laden, 2nd-ranked team is supposed to, scoring six runs in the top of the seventh and beating the ninth-ranked Panthers 6-2 to sweep the regular-season series. IKM-M kept its unbeaten Western Iowa Conference

 GRISWOLD (June 15) -- AHSTW capped a 2-2 week on the baseball diamond Friday night by outscoring Griswold 13-6 in Western Iowa Conference play. The Vikings improved to 6-7 overall and 4-7 in the WIC, taking the lead for good with five runs in the top of the fourth and pulling away with two in the sixth and three in the seventh. AHSTW totaled 11 hits and 11 stolen bases in the contest, also drawing nine walks. Sophomore Joel Sampson led the Vi

 AVOCA (June 14) -- Just three outs away from victory, AHSTW surrendered five runs in the top of the seventh and lost to Underwood 7-4 in Western Iowa Conference softball action Thursday night. The Lady Vikes led 3-2 after six innings before the Eagles plated five runs on four hits in their final at-bat.

 LOGAN (June 15) -- Wyatt Wohlers laced a game-winning RBI single to the left field fence Friday night, lifting Logan-Magnolia past the IKM-Manning baseball team 5-4 in a back-and-forth Western Iowa Conference game. The Wolves, who led 1-0 early, tied the game at 2-2 in the fifth and 4-4 in the sixth but couldn’t get over the hump in falling to 3-10 overall and 3-8 in the WIC.

 IRWIN (June 14) -- Exactly one week after IKM-Manning’s Joy Gross secured career coaching win number 700, daughter Peyton Gross notched a big milestone of her own Thursday night at the Irwin softball diamond. Pitching 11 quality innings and helping her own cause with five hits at the plate, Gross earned career wins 99 and 100 as the 2nd-ranked Wolves swept Riverside in a doubleheader, 10-0 and 11-1. Gross pitched a six-inning one-hit shutout

 FORT DODGE (June 15-16) -- Close losses and low-scoring games were a common theme for the Harlan Community softball team this past weekend as the Cyclones finished 16th at the Fort Dodge Invitational with an 0-4 record. HCHS lost to 10th-ranked (5A) Fort Dodge 6-1 Friday in a first round game shortened to five innings due to a time limit.