Cyclones clinch Hawkeye Ten softball title with 14-0 victory

 COUNCIL BLUFFS (June 29) -- Just two years removed from a 12-22 season, the Harlan Community softball team clinched a Hawkeye Ten Conference championship on Saturday morning with a 14-0, four-inning win at St. Albert.
 HCHS blew the game open with seven runs in the third and five more in the fourth, improving to 24-6 overall and 17-1 in the Hawkeye Ten with two league games to go (July 8 at Denison). The Saintes dropped to 4-26 and 2-18, respectively. The Cyclones clinched the program’s first conference title since 2014, when they shared the crown with Creston.
 HCHS senior Morgan Schaben pitched a no-hitter Saturday and helped the cause with her ninth home run of the year leading off the fourth. She struck out nine Saintes and allowed just one base runner in four innings when she plunked the second batter of the game.
 Julia Schechinger also homered - her third - to put the Cyclones on the board leading off the second inning. She later doubled and finished 2-for-2 with three runs and two RBI. The Cyclones’ 10-hit attack also included two hits and two RBI for Aurora Miller, a Kate Heithoff double and a Jordan Heese two-run single.