Cyclone SB Season Ends w/ Loss at ADM, 9-1

Cyclone SB Season Ends w/ Loss at ADM, 9-1 –

(7-11-26) – The spirit and effort were there… but it wasn’t meant to be.

Harlan Community softball’s season ended Saturday with a 9-1 loss in 6 innings against 4A-No. 1 ADM in Region 1 Semifinals in Adel.

Cyclones Coach Nolan Heese is proud of the change and maturity he’s seen from this year’s team.

“I mean, that's kind of our goal as coaches is to try to flip the culture of the program of not just, ‘Oh, you're coming out because you played it in little league.’ It's not just something we have expectations. We want to be successful.”

The Cyclones trailed 2-0 after 1 inning when they strung together a series of hits against Tigers starter MaKenna Pitlick, finished by an RBI single by Carleigh Goshorn to cut their deficit to 2-1.

But that would be the final hit they’d get in the game as Pitlick took over, retiring the final 7 batters she faced while striking out 8. Lauren Hagedorn pitched 2 perfect innings to finish the game for ADM.

“They've got the best pitchers in the state, in my opinion,” said Heese. ”We were putting the ball in play for the most part… We played them last year and they no hit us last year, the exact same pitchers. So the fact that we were putting the ball in play way more, we scored runs (is a positive).”

Despite the loss, the season was an overall success for Harlan Community softball, finish 18-12, their first season above .500 since 2021. Heese knows he has solid young core of talent returning, with players like Brynn Schumacher, who led the Cyclones in homers and RBI, Taylor Heese, who was tops in batting average, and great contributors like Avery Manz, Aubree Wegner, Olivia Scheuring, Suzy Kenkel, along with both Goshorns, Carleigh & Camryn, the latter who will get a chance at the starting job in the circle.

“Obviously, we have a lot to be excited about for the future. We just got to keep putting in that work. Keep hitting the weight room, keep getting stronger, and just keep at it with intensity.”

View past scores by visiting the Iowa High School Athletic Association's website, Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union website,
or Iowa Quik Stats