(Harlan) Atlantic rode strong pitching performances from Zoey Kirchhoff, Peyton McLaren, and reliever Brynn Lamp to a commanding doubleheader sweep over Harlan in Hawkeye Ten Conference action Monday night.
In the opener, Kirchhoff was flawless in the circle, tossing a perfect game over four innings. The junior faced just 12 batters and struck out six as Atlantic rolled to a 12-0 win, shortened by the run rule.
The Trojans’ offense was just as dominant, launching four home runs in the game. Lila Wiederstein started the power surge with a two-run blast in the second inning. Atlantic followed with three homers in the third—Jillian Saathoff hit a two-run shot, while McLaren and Kirchhoff each added solo home runs. Makenna Schroeder went three-for-three with two singles, as double, and two RBI. Wiederstein added an RBI double to her line, McKenna Sonntag drilled a single, and Reese Ball hit a single.
Atlantic pushed across five runs in the second inning and exploded for seven more in the third, sealing the win after four innings.
Atlantic capped off a dominant doubleheader sweep of Harlan with an 8-1 victory in the nightcap, fueled by a balanced offensive attack and strong performances in the circle.
Lila Wiederstein stayed hot, finishing three for five with a single, double, and a triple. Dylan Ball hit a single, and a double, Kirchhoff went two for four with a single, double, and two RBI. Peyton McLaren had two doubles, McKenna Sonntag smacked a double, Schroeder hit a single, and Madison McLaren singled for Atlantic.
Peyton McLaren was dominant on the mound to start, retiring 12 of the 13 batters she faced and allowing just one hit over four shutout innings. Brynn Lamp came in to close out the final three frames, giving up one run on two hits.
Atlantic scored runs in four different innings—one in the first, four in the fourth, one in the fifth, and two more in the seventh.
Harlan’s lone run came in the bottom of the fifth when Aubrie Arkfeld doubled home Carleigh Goshorn. Aubree Wegner and Camryn Goshorn added singles for the Cyclones.
With the sweep, Atlantic extends its win streak to six and improves to 6-1. The Trojans travel to Creston on Tuesday. Harlan falls to 1-5 and will visit Kuemper Catholic next.
