Newly-ranked Cyclone softball team sweeps Rams

 HARLAN (June 13) -- Harlan Community’s first night as a state-ranked softball team was a good one.
 Led by Morgan Schaben’s 27 strikeouts in a pair of complete game pitching efforts, the No. 14 Cyclones topped Glenwood 5-2 and 3-0 here Thursday night, improving to 10-1 in Hawkeye Ten Conference play and 15-3 overall.
 A four-run first inning propelled HCHS in game one while game two saw home runs from Aurora Miller and Schaben account for all three runs.
 Glenwood, which dropped to 7-7 overall and 5-4 in the H-10, struck out 14 times in game one and 13 times in the night cap, totaling just five hits off Schaben (12-3) in two games. Two days earlier, Schaben pitched 11 hitless innings in a doubleheader sweep of Kuemper Catholic.
 “She’s really turned it on when we really needed it and stepped up, especially since our bats weren’t quite as hot as they have been,” said HCHS coach Brooke Wilson - Schaben’s older sister.
HCHS 5, Glenwood 2
 The bottom third of the Cyclone lineup led the way in game one as Jordan Heese, Tianna Kasperbauer and Miranda Goetz all went 2-for-3 and combined to drive in four runs.
 Schaben pitched a three-hitter with no walks and 14 Ks. One of the hits was a home run by Glenwood's Brooklyn Taylor in the fifth.
HCHS 3, Glenwood 0
 Game two was a pitchers’ duel between Schaben and Brianna Gerhardt, who fired a four-hitter with no walks and five strikeouts for the Rams.
 Miller, an eighth-grader, broke up a scoreless tie in the fourth with a solo home run to center field - her first-ever long ball. In the sixth, Goetz led off with a single and Schaben (2-for-3) crushed her fourth home run of the year with two out to make it 3-0.
 Schaben’s two-hit shutout included 13 strikeouts and four walks, but Glenwood went down in order just one time. She worked around a leadoff double and walk in the second inning by striking out the next three batters and also made sure the Rams stranded runners in scoring position in the third, fourth and fifth.