It was time for game two between the Ravens and the Winfield-Mt Union Wolves, two teams residing in the Southeast Iowa Super Conference. With the first contest being a home game for Hillcrest, which they won 16-12, this time the matchup would take place in Winfield. 

Turning this away game into a quick road trip, Hillcrest would handle WMU in three frames, taking a dominant 15-2 win on June 20 to spoil the Wolves’ senior night. During the win sophomore Malia Yoder would reach a noteworthy milestone, 100 season strikeouts.

Yoder is the third player in the school’s softball history to reach 100 strikeouts, with the last time it occurred being in 2013. Pitching in three innings in this win over WMU Yoder would record five strikeouts, giving up three hits. 

With this win Hillcrest improves its season record to 7-13 while the Wolves’ record drops to 4-13.

The conclusion of the first inning would see both teams knotted up at 1-1, but Hillcrest would break the tie shortly. Scoring seven runs in the second and third innings the Ravens would storm ahead and not look back, ultimately scoring enough to bring the game to a close after only three innings of play. 

Nine Ravens scored in this game with sophomore Morgyn Nafziger leading the team with three runs scored. Driving home four Hillcrest baserunners to lead the team in RBIs was sophomore Delaney Shaw. As a team Hillcrest would record eight hits while holding WMU to just a single hit. 

Central Lee 15, Hillcrest 0

Fresh off their mercy rule win the Ravens would hit the road again but this time to challenge the Central Lee Hawks. It was a battle of the birds, but it was the Ravens who ended up on the wrong side of the mercy rule in this contest, falling to the Hawks, 15-0, on June 21. 

In a game that only lasted three frames this was the seventh time this season Hillcrest was unable to score a run. With this loss their record drops to 7-14 and the Hawks improve to 16-7. 

Central Lee would score a single run in the first to take the lead and then proceed to open the flood gate on runs, scoring 14 in the bottom of the second. With Hillcrest not being able to respond with runs of its own this game would come to an early end after the top of the third was completed. 

Columbus 16, Hillcrest 0

In what would be their fourth road game in the last five games the Ravens traveled to Columbus to battle the Wildcats on June 23. A rematch from a game earlier this season, the Wildcats completed the season sweep of Hillcrest with a shutout win of 16-0. 

The mercy rule would come into play after three innings of play. Columbus would take the lead by scoring three runs in the first and then end the game by scoring 13 runs in the second. This would be the 13th time this season the Ravens have lost via the mercy rule. 

Hillcrest would record three hits as a team. Sophomore Delaney Shaw would go two for two at bat, connecting for a base hit twice. Freshman Claire Withrow would finish with one hit on the night, going one for two at bat. 

Sophomores Kylee Statler and Malia Yoder would split pitching duties, with each sophomore pitching in one inning. Statler would face 15 batters, giving up six hits. Yoder would face nine batters, giving up four hits and striking out one Columbus batter. 

Up next for Hillcrest (7-16) will be a Class 1A first round postseason road game against the Tri-County Trojans (10-8). These two teams haven’t played each other since 2016, a game in which the Ravens won, 7-4.