Cyclone softball team sweeps Cardinals

 CLARINDA (July 1) -- Emily Brouse hit her eighth home run of the season and also notched her 500th career strikeout Thursday night as the Harlan Community softball team swept a doubleheader at Clarinda by identical scores of 8-0.
 Junior Tianna Kasperbauer (12-2) pitched a four-hit shutout in game one, striking out seven, walking one and also hitting one batter.
 Brouse, a senior, improved to 13-6 in the night cap with a one-hit shutout, walking one and striking out 11 to surpass 500 career Ks.
 Brouse also homered in game two, a fourth-inning leadoff shot that gave her eight home runs on the year and seven in the last 11 games.
 The Cyclones had just six singles in game one  and led 2-0 before pulling away with four runs in the sixth and two in the seventh.
 Ella Plagman hit a two-run single in the sixth and Kennedy Kjergaard followed with a run-scoring ground ball. Jordan Heese’s sac fly rounded out the scoring an inning later.
 Aurora Miller went 2-for-4 and scored two runs to lead the way. Brouse, Heese and Madison Schumacher added one hit apiece and Julia Schechinger scored twice.
 HCHS outhit Clarinda 10-1 in game two and posted crooked numbers in the second inning (two runs), fourth (three runs) and fifth (two runs).
 Miller had another nice game at the plate, hitting a triple, a double and an RBI single in her only three at-bats and scoring two runs. Plagman went 2-for-3 with a double, two runs and two RBI and Heese doubled home a run to go along with the Brouse home run.
 Adding singles for HCHS were Kasperbauer, Schumacher and Kennedy Kjergaard.
 The Cyclones improved to 25-9 overall and 16-3 in the Hawkeye Ten Conference, but were unable to wrap up sole possession of second place in the league following Monday’s stunning 7-4 home loss to St. Albert. They finished tied for second with Creston.
 HCHS will host sixth-ranked (4A) Dallas Center-Grimes in Tuesday night’s regular-season finale and will open 4A regional play at home Saturday night against Lewis Central or Denison.
 Thursday’s two losses dropped Clarinda to 8-21 overall and 5-15 in the H-10.