HARLAN (July 2) -- Emily Brouse blasted her fourth home run of the year and notched her seventh pitching win here Thursday night as Harlan Community defeated the Red Oak softball team 8-1. The 13th-ranked (Class 4A) Cyclones won their third straight game and improved to 12-2 overall and 8-1 in the Hawkeye Ten Conference.

 HARLAN (July 2) -- A six-run third inning propelled the Harlan Community baseball team to an 8-1 home win over Red Oak Thursday night at Jim Goeser Field. The Cyclones finished 3-1 on last week’s four-day home stand, including Hawkeye Ten victories vs. Atlantic, Clarinda and the Tigers. They improved to 7-3 overall and 7-2 in conference play.

 HARLAN (July 1) -- Madison Schumacher slid home with the winning run on Kate Heithoff’s fielder’s choice grounder in the bottom of the eighth Wednesday night as the Harlan Community softball team rallied past Logan-Magnolia for a 4-3, extra-inning win. The Cyclones trailed 3-1 before plating two runs in the bottom of the seventh and the international tiebreaker rule was used in the eighth - each team starting their inning with a runner on sec

 HARLAN (July 1) -- One bad inning proved to be the difference on Wednesday as the Harlan Community baseball team’s upset bid fell one run short in a 5-4 home loss to sixth-ranked (4A) Sioux City East. The Black Raiders (11-1) took advantage of a walk, two Harlan errors and five stolen bases in a four-run sixth inning that turned a two-run deficit into a 5-3 lead. HCHS (6-3) pushed across a run in the bottom of the seventh to make it close, bu

 AVOCA (July 2) -- AHSTW beat IKM-Manning 12-1 in five innings Thursday in WIC softball action. The Lady Vikes improved to 7-7 overall and finished 4-4 in league play. The Wolves dropped to 2-9 and 2-6, respectively. AHSTW racked up 13 hits, led by Ally Meyers, who was 3-for-4 with a triple, four RBI and three runs scored.

 HARLAN (June 30) -- Connor Bruck’s ground-ball single through a drawn-in infield plated Alex Monson with the winning run in the bottom of the seventh as the Harlan Community baseball team outlasted a gritty Clarinda squad 8-7 Tuesday night at Jim Goeser Field. The Cyclones’ third straight win did not come easy as the Cardinals tied the game twice with one run in the top of the sixth and three in the seventh.

 HARLAN (June 30) -- Emily Brouse and Tianna Kasperbauer pitched a combined no-hitter here Tuesday night as the Harlan Community softball team bounced back from a tough loss to Atlantic 24 hours earlier by putting away Clarinda 11-0 in five. HCHS scored five runs in the first inning and took full control by adding two in the second and four in the third.

 HARLAN (June 29) -- Sparked by a seven-run second inning, the Harlan Community baseball team got a complete game from senior ace Connor Bruck to defeat Atlantic 10-2 at Jim Goeser Field Monday night. HCHS (5-2, 5-2 H-10) totaled only five hits off three Trojan pitchers but took full advantage of 11 walks and five errors made by Atlantic (2-6, 2-5). Thirteen Cyclones batted in the bottom of the second - a seven-run outburst that included two b

 HARLAN (June 29) -- Tianna Kasperbauer and Emily Brouse turned in their usual strong performance during Monday’s Hawkeye Ten showdown vs. Atlantic, combining to pitch eight strong innings - two at a time - for the Harlan Community softball team. On this night, however, Trojan ace Olivia Engler and her supporting cast were simply better. Engler allowed a second-inning home run to Brouse and nothing else at H.

 AVOCA (June 30) -- The AHSTW baseball team lost a pair of low-scoring Western Iowa Conference battles earlier this week and took a 3-4 record into the holiday weekend. The Vikings suffered a tough 5-3 home loss to Audubon on Monday night as the Wheelers rallied for three runs in the top of the seventh inning.

 AVOCA (June 30) -- Senior Madison Thornton pitched a complete game eight-hitter and Ally Meyers led the offense with three hits as the AHSTW softball team posted an impressive 9-3 win over 14th-ranked (2A) Underwood here Tuesday night. The Lady Vikes took a 3-0 lead in the second inning and added six runs in the fourth. Ally Meyers went 3-for-5 with a double on offense while Kailey Jones and Natalie Hagadon both added a pair of singles.

 SHENANDOAH (June 25) -- The Harlan Community softball team wrapped up a perfect 4-0 week on Thursday night with a commanding 11-1, five-inning conference win at Shenandoah. Now ranked 11th in Class 4A by the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union, the Cyclones improved to 9-1 overall (6-0 Hawkeye Ten) going into Monday night’s battle for first place vs.

 SHENANDOAH (June 25) -- Isaiah Ahrenholtz’s second sacrifice fly of the game drove home the winning run in the top of the eighth Thursday night as Harlan Community escaped Shenandoah with a 5-4, extra-inning baseball win. The 10th-ranked (Class 3A) Cyclones led 4-1 after two but the Mustangs were able to tie the score by chipping away with single runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh frames. HCHS sophomore Joey Moser got on base to start the e

 HARLAN (June 27) -- The remainder of the Harlan Community freshmen baseball season has been cancelled after a team member recently tested positive for COVID-19. HCHS Activities Director Davis Pattee released a statement on Saturday in regards to the cancellation. “These are very difficult times, and as we continue to navigate the complexities of COVID-19 our first priority will always be the safety of our student-athletes and coaches,” Pattee

 KIMBALLTON (June 26) -- Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton built an 8-0 third-inning lead and held on to beat the Audubon softball team 9-4 here Friday night, improving its perfect record to 9-0 overall. The 13th-ranked (Class 1A) Spartans hit the ball hard off Wheeler starter Kali Irlmeier, who allowed eight hits and six earned runs in an inning and a third.