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Hawkeyes Sweep Dolphins in Doubleheader

Sports

February 25th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The University of Iowa softball team swept a doubleheader against the Jacksonville on Saturday afternoon on day two of the UNF-Jacksonville Invitational. The Hawkeyes took game one, 5-3, before clinching the day with a, 4-1, win in the nightcap.

Sophomore Jalen Adams got the start in game one and picked up her third win of the season going five innings allowing three runs on seven hits and struck out three Dolphins hitters. Freshman Jaylee Ojo picked her first save of her career, tallying five strikeouts in two innings of work.

Seven different Hawkeyes had an RBI on the day led by senior Grace Banes who had two hits, two RBIs and one run scored. Junior Rylie Moss picked up three hits in the doubleheader with one RBI and one run scored.

Junior Devyn Greer had a strong outing in game two with 5.2 innings of work allowing one run and struck out three. Junior Haley Downe picked up her first career win going 1.1 innings to close out the comeback win over Jacksonville.

Iowa was able to capitalize on nine Dolphin errors in the two games.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Game 1 

Freshman Devin Bowman was able to make the first sound for the Hawkeyes in the top of the third with a hard-hit single through the left side to score freshman Tory Bennett. Iowa looked to end a Jacksonville threat in the home half of the fourth throwing out a runner at home, but the call was overturned due to obstruction to allow the Dolphins to tie the game at one.

JU took the lead, 3-1, in the fifth after a few Iowa miscues. Adams was able to work her way out of the inning with a strikeout stranding two Dolphins baserunners.

The Hawkeye bats came to life in the top of the sixth as they plated four runs on four hits. Banes got the scoring started with a single to rightfield to two. Moss brought home another run on a sac fly and freshman Jena Young provided an insurance run on an RBI single to make it 5-3.

Ojo entered in relief to start the sixth inning and worked around two baserunners and recorded three strikeouts.

Despite JU being able to load the bases in the bottom of the seventh Ojo shut the door striking out the final batter to secure the win.

Iowa finished the game with five runs on five hits with no errors. The Dolphins were held to three runs on nine hits and had four errors.

Game 2 

Greer had a strong start once again for the Hawkeyes. Jacksonville opened the scoring in the bottom of the third taking the, 1-0, lead on an RBI single. Iowa responded in the top of the fourth with an RBI from Bennett to tie the game at one.

Both teams were able to scatter a few hits through the next two innings. The Hawkeyes poured on the runs in the top of the seventh. Downe got her first at bat of 2024 and laid down sac bunt to move Bennett into scoring position. Freshman Soo-Jin Berry kept things going with an RBI single up the middle to bring in Bennett. Senior Brylee Klosterman closed out the inning with a sac fly scoring Berry and Young after an error by the JU left fielder to make it, 4-1.

Jacksonville managed to load the bases in the bottom of the seventh but were held to just one run as Downe closed out the game.

Iowa finished the game with four runs on seven hits with one error. The Dolphins were held to two runs on five hits and had five errors.

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH RENEE GILLISPIE

“Coming away with two wins today is big, especially after having games rained out for our last three game days. I am proud of how the team stayed composed throughout the games when things weren’t necessarily going our way. A key thing is to make sure we control the things we can control within our circle and with that we will find success the rest of the season.”

NOTABLES

  • All nine of the Hawkeyes runs on the day were unearned.
  • Senior Sammy Diaz has reached base in the last five games.
  • Downe has picked up her first career save and win through nine games.
  • Freshman Berry and Bowman picked up their team-leading seventh and sixth RBIs, respectively.

UP NEXT

The Hawkeyes return to action today (Sunday Feb. 25) for the final day of the UNF-JU Invitational. They will face Harvard at 9 a.m. CT at the UNF Softball Complex. Iowa will close out action in Florida facing UNF at 11:30 a.m. in a make-up game from Friday. Both games will be broadcast on the Hawkeye Radio Network with Victor Anderson on the call.

Skyscan Forecast for Atlantic & the Nishna Valley: Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024

Weather

February 25th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Today: Sunny, with a high near 64. Calm wind becoming west northwest 5 to 8 mph in the morning.
Tonight: Clear, with a low around 37. Calm wind becoming south southeast 5 to 7 mph after midnight.
Monday: Sunny, with a high near 75. Breezy, with a southwest wind 8 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 65. Windy, with a south wind 6 to 11 mph becoming north northwest 18 to 23 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 29 mph.
Tuesday Night: A chance of rain and snow before 9pm, then a chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 11. Windy. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 30. Windy.

Saturday’s High in Atlantic was 58. The Low was 15. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 41 and the Low was 9. The Record High for Feb. 25th was 70 degrees, set in 1995. The Record Low was -14, in 2010. Sunrise: 7:01. Sunset: 6:05.

SANDRA KAY (Kopeska) SMITH, 79, of Weeping Water, NE. (Celebration of Life 2/26/24)

Obituaries

February 25th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

SANDRA KAY (Kopeska) SMITH, 79, of Weeping Water, NE., died Dec. 29, 2023 at Bergan-Mercy Medical Center, in Omaha. A Celebration of Life Memorial Service for SANDRA K. SMITH will be be held 10:30-a.m. Monday, Feb. 26, 2024, at the First Lutheran Church North Branch, in Avoca, Nebraska. Kessler Funeral Home in Audubon has the arrangements.

Burial is in the Maple Grove Cemetery in Audubon.

SANDRA K. SMITH is survived by:

Her daughters – Wendy (Robert) Trinh, of San Jose, CA., and Sandy (Jim) Kluver, of Bronson, IA.

3 grandchildren, 5 great-grandchildren, other relatives and many friends.

EDWARD “Ed’ DANIELS, 81, of Atlantic (No Services planned)

Obituaries

February 24th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

EDWARD “Ed’ DANIELS, 81, of Atlantic, died Saturday, February 24, 2024, at Heritage House in Atlantic. Per his wishes, a cremation for ED DANIELS is to take place at the Schmidt Family Funeral Home in Atlantic, and n services are scheduled at this time.

EDWARD “Ed’ DANIELS is survived by:

His wife – Juliann Daniels, of Atlantic.

His son – David (Kathleen) Daniels, of St. Louis, MO.

His daughter – Mary (Edward) Laird, of Lombard, IL.

and four grandchildren.

Eagle Grove P.D. investigate shooting incident

News

February 24th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

JOHN LEE BLEVINS, 86, of Atlantic (Svcs. Pending)

Obituaries

February 24th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

JOHN LEE BLEVINS, 86, of Atlantic, died Saturday, February 24, 2024, at Myrtue Medical Center in Harlan. Services for JOHN BLEVINS are pending. Schmidt Family Funeral Home of Atlantic is handling the arrangements.

Adair County & Guthrie County Implements Burning Ban

Ag/Outdoor, News

February 24th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Guthrie Center, Iowa) – A burning ban will be in place for Adair County and Guthrie County starting Saturday February 24, 2024. The ban prohibits open burning in Adair County and Guthrie County, including all the cities within the counties.
The current dry conditions throughout the region have caused an increase in fire responses throughout Adair and Guthrie County. As dry conditions and winds persist, dead and drying vegetation is the perfect fuel to spread fires rapidly.

Adair County Burn Ban Proclamation 02-24-2024

Guthrie County Burn Ban Proclamation 02-24-2024

Emergency Management Deputy Coordinator Jeremy Cooper says “Adair and Guthrie County Fire Departments have seen the effects of fires in extreme conditions, and they want to do everything they can to help mitigate life threatening incidents from occurring. These Fire Departments are volunteer departments and are responding to calls that pull them from their everyday life and work and becomes very taxing on those volunteers. We have been in a drought for over 4 years and conditions just have not been improving much. We have experienced an abnormal winter with really only one major snow event that really didn’t help with the overall moisture levels. Hopefully in the coming weeks things will improve and start greening up, it’s just not common to have a Burn Ban this time of year.”

During these dry conditions, citizens are reminded to not throw out cigarettes from moving vehicles and to discontinue burning yard waste, piled tree debris or other items during the ban. Small recreational campfires are permitted only if they are conducted in a fireplace of brick, metal or heavy one-inch wire mesh. Any campfire not in an outdoor fireplace or left unattended is prohibited. Fire Departments will still be able to proceed with their scheduled controlled burns of CRP land and citizens can also obtain a burn permit from their local Fire Chief, if the Chief approves such a request and signs the permit.

Violation of a burn ban can subject a person to citation or arrest for reckless use of fire or disobeying a burn ban. For more information on burn bans and the law or to check the current status of burn bans statewide on the State Fire Marshal’s statewide burn ban website: https://dps.iowa.gov/divisions/state-fire-marshal/burn-bans.

Hawkeyes Fall to Auburn, 7-5

Sports

February 24th, 2024 by admin

JACKSONVILLE, Florida – The 18th ranked University of Iowa baseball team fell to Auburn, 7-5, on Saturday morning at 121 Financial Park.

The Hawkeyes got out to a 3-2 lead through four innings as Brody Brecht gave them a quality start on the bump.

Brecht threw six innings allowing two hits and two runs (one earned) while striking out 11 and walking four.

Jack Whitlock was tagged with the loss allowing three runs in 2/3 of an inning. Zach Voelker allowed two earned runs in 1/3 of an inning.

Elliot Cadieux-Lanoue threw an inning walking one and striking out one.

Sam Petersen was 1-for-4 with a two-run home run. Kyle Huckstorf and Michael Seegers each tallied two hits for the Hawkeyes, and both recorded an RBI. Blake Guerin was 1-for-2 with an

RBI. Iowa loaded the bases in the first inning as Guerin walked in a run. The Hawkeyes played small ball in the second inning as Huckstorf tripled and Seeger slayed down the sacrifice bunt.

The Tigers singled in a run in the third after a pair of walks. Iowa responded with a double from Gable Mitchell and RBI single from Huckstorf.

Auburn cut the lead in half in the bottom of the sixth, and they took the lead with a pair of home runs in the seventh. A home run and a sacrifice fly extended the Tiger lead in the eighth.

Petersen homered with two outs in the ninth, but the Hawkeyes were unable to continue the rally.

UP NEXT:

Iowa (3-2) returns to action tomorrow against No. 14 Virginia in the JAX College Baseball Classic at 3 p.m. (CT).

Another field fire reported in Montgomery County

News

February 24th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Officials with the Red Oak Fire Department report, that at around 4-p.m. Friday, Red Oak Fire was dispatched to the area of 160th x L Ave for a reported field on fire. Automatic mutual aid was requested from the Stanton and Elliott Fire Departments. The first crews on the scene found flames moving slowly through several grazed pasture fields as well as fence lines and several small brush piles. The fire was quickly contained. Crews remained on scene for roughly 90 minutes putting out smoldering trees and brush piles. Approximately 25 acres was consumed in fire. The cause of fire is undetermined at this time.
At the same time of the initial call and while fire crews were enroute to the 160th x L Ave fire call, fire crews witnessed smoke coming from the Anderson Conservation area. Additional fire crews were redirected and responded to find a small rekindle within the area of the previous burn from Wednesday afternoon. That fire was also quickly contained with no further incident.
Agencies assisted in handling the incident include the aforementioned Stanton and Elliott Fire Departments, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputies and Montgomery County 911, along with the Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency. (Photos from the Red Oak FD Facebook page)

Creston man injured in a motorcycle accident

News

February 24th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Creston, Iowa) – One person was transported to the hospital in Creston, Friday night, following a motorcycle accident. Creston Police say 76-year-old Michel Joseph Spaulding, of Creston, was operating a 2012 Harley Davidson motorcycle northbound on Cherry Street south of Mills St, at around 10:20-p.m., when the machine struck a curb. The cycle scraped along a yard and a road before coming to rest. Police found Spaulding sitting next to his motorcycle, alert and conscious, but bleeding from the head.

The man admitted to officers that he had consumed alcohol. He was transported by EMS to the Greater Regional Hospital in Creston. The motorcycle sustained an estimated $7,000 damage. No citations were issued.