FORT DODGE — The Class 2A No. 15 BCLUW softball team split with a pair of 5A teams on the opening day of the Fort Dodge Tournament here Friday, beating Sioux City East 12-2 in five innings before falling to Iowa City West, 8-6 in six innings.

In the opener against Sioux City East, Samantha Ubben struck out 10 and surrendered four hits and one earned run in the win for the Comets (16-6). Leah Yantis connected on her fifth home run of the year, a solo shot, to help BCLUW jump out to an 11-2 lead after three innings.

Ubben also went 4-for-4 at the plate with a double and an RBI, while Easton Swanson was 3-for-4 with a double and three RBIs and Sara Sharp finished 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Jenna Willett also had three hits, and Yantis was 2-for-4.

The Comets fell behind Iowa City West 5-0 after three innings before rallying to within one, 5-4, in the fourth. The Women of Troy held off BCLUW’s comeback for the 8-6 win in a game that ended one inning early because of the tournament’s time limit.

Lauren Anderson got the pitching loss for the Comets, allowing eight earned runs on 12 hits. Jordyn Beeghly, Olivia Hughes and Swanson each had two hits for BCLUW.

The Comets start today’s play with an 11 a.m. game against Ankeny.

STC tops Redhawks, falls to Mustangs

TAMA — The South Tama County softball team ended a 12-game losing skid by defeating North Tama 6-5 in the first game of Friday’s varsity doubleheader, but the Trojans fell 6-0 to East Marshall in game two.

Saylor Upah went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and Allison Yuska finished 2-for-3 with an RBI, two stolen bases and two runs scored to lead STC (2-19) in the victory over North Tama. The Trojans used a four-run fourth inning to capture a 6-2 lead that withstood North Tama’s late surge.

Ashlynn Ellenbecker earned the win in the circle for South Tama, allowing three earned runs on seven hits. She struck out three and walked none.

In the nightcap, East Marshall erupted for four runs in the top of the sixth inning to break open a one-run game. The Mustangs tacked on another run in the seventh with Juliana Arifi homered for the fifth time this season.

Kodie Hoskey struck out 13 and hit one batter in the win for the Mustangs (10-10). Arifi had a double in addition to her homer, Madison Farrington had a two-run double, Hoskey had an RBI single, and Melinda Puumala drove in one run with her two singles.

Yuska was 2-for-3 with a double to lead the Trojans at the plate. Destinie Johnson got the loss, allowing seven hits and five earned runs in 5 2/3 innings. She walked five and struck out five. Brittney Breya struck out two in 1 1/3 innings.

GMG softball suffers sixth-straight ‘L’

TRIPOLI — The GMG softball team suffered its sixth-straight loss, falling 14-4 in six innings to Tripoli in Friday’s Iowa Star Conference contest.

The host Panthers scored at least once in each at-bat, overcoming GMG’s three-run first inning with five runs in the bottom half of the opening frame.

Emily Vaughn sustained the loss in the circle, allowing eight earned runs on 14 hits and 12 walks, striking out two. Vaughn was one of the Wolverines’ offensive leaders, going 2-for-3 at the plate. Eve Gallentine was 2-for-2 with a run scored, and Maesa Groth had a two-run single for GMG (4-13, 3-8).

Nine-run inning propels West Marshall

ACKLEY — A nine-run explosion in the second inning boosted the West Marshall baseball team to an eventual 14-3 victory against AGWSR in Friday’s NICL West Division contest.

The Trojans (15-3, 7-0) needed only five innings to finish off the Cougars (4-5, 3-4) for the regular-season sweep.

David Disney went 2-for-4 with a solo home run for West Marshall. Cody Mead finished 3-for-3 with a double, an RBI and three runs scored, while Cameron Bannister helped his own cause with a two-run single. Ross Randall went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a run scored, while Chandler Sponseller went 2-for-4 with a run and two RBIs.

Bannister pitched all five innings for the win, allowing two earned runs on four hits and three walks, striking out five. Caleb Bartling got the loss for AGWSR as he was unable to escape the second inning.

Josh Bartling had a double while Luke Starr, Matt Pfaltzgraff and Nathan Karsjens each singled for the Cougars.

6-run sixth lifts Mustangs past Comets

BEAMAN — Jordan McAnulty and Jacob Svendsen combined on a three-hitter as the East Marshall baseball team defeated BCLUW 7-1 in NICL West Division action here Friday night.

The Mustangs (4-13, 2-5) broke a 1-all tie with six runs in the top of the sixth inning, sparked by a bevy of BCLUW errors. The Comets (9-6, 5-2) made seven errors in all, while the Mustangs had none. Logan Mann took the loss.

McAnulty’s two-run single in the sixth was the big blow in the decisive inning for East Marshall. He was the only Mustang to have two hits, while six others had one single each. Seven different players scored.

Brad Barkema’s solo home run in the bottom of the first was the lone tally for BCLUW. Barkema also doubled and Troy Dolphin had a single to account for the Comets’ three hits.