Wolves “smash” their way to regional semifinals

 IRWIN -- Led by a big night from the “Smash Sisters” combo of Abbey Youngren and Vanessa Freese, the IKM-Manning softball team took care of business in Wednesday’s postseason opener, beating Sioux Central 12-4 in a Class 2-A, Region 2 quarterfinal at Irwin.
 Youngren and Freese combined for seven hits and six RBI, including Youngren’s 12th home run of the year in the fifth inning and Freese’s sixth homer in the second.
 “The Smash Sisters got it going again. When they hit like that, good things are going to happen for us,” said IKM-M head coach Joy Gross. “And they’re not just hitting booms. They’re getting base hits ... and that makes it easier to score a little bit.”
 Sioux Central also got two home runs on the night from Jenny Sievers and Jill Fahnlander, but didn’t have the pitching to slow down IKM-Manning, which outhit the Rebels 14-10 and also drew seven walks during the first three innings.