Storm light up the scoreboard with nine home runs in doubleheader sweep over Central

INDIANOLA, Iowa - Under the lights on a Monday night, the Simpson College softball team put on a spectacle. The Storm clubbed nine home runs, highlighted by back-to-back-to-back shots by Ashlyn Steen, Megan Heidelbauer, and Alexis Ehlers, and rolled past Central 11-3 and 18-3 to sweep the Dutch.

The top three of the order in Steen, Heidelbauer and Ehlers combined for scorching 11-for-17 over the two games with seven home runs, 14 RBIs, 11 runs scored, and four walks. The big three outpaced Central (17-5, 2-2 A-R-C) as a team as the Dutch were limited to only six runs on seven hits and no home runs on the day.

On Heidelbauer's first home run of the day, the junior shattered the school record for most RBIs in a single season, set by Maddie Luderman with 45 in 2023. Heidelbauer sits at 50 RBIs on the season, and currently ranks first in the country in RBIs and second in home runs with 13.

GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS

• It didn't take long for the bats to get going as Heidelbauer kicked off the day with her first of three home runs, a solo shot in the bottom of the first.
• Central responded with two in the second inning before Heidelbauer again delivered with an RBI single to tie the game up.
• In the third, Central took a 3-2 lead but the Storm (25-3, 6-2 A-R-C) answered right back with a six-run bottom half to regain the lead, and Simpson never looked back.
• Home runs from Ehlers and a three-run shot by Steen, sandwiched around a two-RBI double from Obleton highlighted the third for Simpson.
• In the fourth, Simpson continued to pour on, scoring one on the RBI double from Fowler before Steen capped-off the game with a two-RBI single, securing the 11-3 win in five innings.
• Cronin got the start in the circle, and the freshman delivered the complete-game win. Cronin improved to 3-0 on the year after going the full five innings with five hits, three runs allowed.

GAME ONE LEADERS

• Ashlyn Steen - 2-for-3, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB
• Megan Heidelbauer - 2-for-3, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 R
• Alexis Ehlers - 1-for-2, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB
• Mackenzie James - 2-for-3, 2 R

GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS

• Game two started nearly identical to game one, with Heidelbauer going deep to quickly put Simpson on top.
• Steen added to the lead in the second inning with her RBI double to center to put Simpson up 3-0.
• Central tied the game up in the third inning with a bases-clearing single in the gap, one of its two hits on in the game.
• However, the game quickly got out of hand in the fourth as Simpson hung 15-runs up on the board, highlighted by five home runs.
• Steen-Heidelbauer-Ehlers got the party started with back-to-back-to-back jacks, all to left center.
• After a Central error allowed a run to score, Kriegel wiped the bases clean with a grand slam to deep center to break open an 11-3 lead.
• Steen scored later in the inning on a wild pitch, followed by RBI hits from James and Shaner to open up a 14-3 lead.
• Fowler kept the scoring going with her two-RBI single up the middle, and finally Ginnaty put the final pin in Central with a two-run home run to right as Simpson rolled to the 18-3 win.

GAME TWO LEADERS

• Ashlyn Steen - 3-for-4, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 3 R
• Megan Heidelbauer - 2-for-2, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 3 R, 1 BB, 1 IBB
• Katie Shaner - 3-for-3, 1 RBI, 2 R, 1 BB
• Brielyn Ginnaty - 2-for-2, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 R
• Kate Kriegel - 1-for-3, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1 R

NOTES

• Tonight's sweep was Simpson's first over the Dutch since 2008. 
• Simpson's 15-run victory in game two was the largest margin of victory in the series with the Dutch, which dates back to 1973.
• Megan Heidelbauer broke the school record for most RBIs in a single season with her first home run of the day. She surpasses Maddie Luderman's 45 from 2023.
• Heidelbauer sits at 50 RBIs on the season, currently ranking first in the country in RBIs and second in home runs with 13.

UP NEXT
Simpson continues the homestand with a doubleheader against Loras on Wednesday, April 16 starting at 3 p.m.