Spartans drop two of three at tournament

Over the weekend, the Exira varsity softball team played three games in a tournament in Atlantic losing two of three to the Creston Panthers, 4-2 and losing to the Lewis Central Titans, 7-0. Their lone victory came against the Clarinda Cardinals in which they won 5-3.

“I told the girls that even though it may not feel like it as we leave today, we did get better,” said Exira Head Softball Coach Andrea Nulle. “We played some quality competition from larger schools and competed with them. That is only going to help us in the long run.”

Even though the weekend didn’t go as planned for the Spartans, Nulle credited a pitcher on her roster who’s having an outstanding season.

“Macy [Emgarten] put in a lot of work this offseason and it is showing,” she said. “I can think of several times in this season where we have had runners in scoring positions with one or less outs in a crucial point in the game and she goes on to strike out the next two batters or get a pop up to one of her fielders. These situations really show the maturity between the ears that Macy now has as a senior with a ton of experience.”

With this tournament behind them, it puts the Spartans record at 8-2 overall. Their next match will be Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. as they will play the Boyer Valley Bulldogs, 4-1. Nulle talked about improvements she’d like to see moving forward.

“I would like to see us refreshed from a few days off and ready to bounce back,” she added. “Our bats did not produce against Lewis Central, so I would like to see some adjustments made but come back with the same confidence we have had at the plate.”