Pat Harty

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – New coaches, new uniforms, but so far, the same result for the West High softball team.

The Women of Troy were swept by Cedar Rapids Xavier in a doubleheader on Tuesday by scores of 3-1 and 9-1, falling to 0-6 under first-year head coach Barb Lynn.

Xavier senior pitcher Maria Steffen earned the win in both games. She scattered six hits in the first game while going the distance and allowed just two hits over five innings in the second game.

“Our defense has made huge strides,” Lynn said. “Right now, we’re pleased with the improvements we’ve seen defensively. But offensively, we’ve got to find a way to score runs. We got a few kids on base, but not many. So we’ve got a lot of work to do offensively.”

West High pitcher Eva Burbidge kept her team within striking distance in the first game while scattering 10 hits over seven innings.

Xavier scored one run in both the first and second innings and another in the seventh to secure its fourth victory in a row.

“It was a good first game,” Lynn said. “We’ve got to be able to play two solid games and stay focused. We’re continuing to work on those things.”

Steffen finished with five strikeouts and had zero walks in the first game. She then had six strikeouts in the second game before being replaced by freshman Miyako Coffey in the sixth inning.

“A lot of credit goes to Xavier’s pitcher,” Lynn said. “She’s a good pitcher and we had a hard time hitting her. We need to be able to make adjustments when we face good pitchers. And that’s the part we didn’t get accomplished tonight, making the adjustments.

“She knew how to face our batters and put it where our batters struggled.”

This season sort of marks a new era for West High softball as it adjusts to the roster shake-up that occurred when Liberty High opened last fall. Some of West’s top players from last season, including all-state outfielder Brylee Klosterman, now play for Liberty.

Lynn also replaced Justin Lutjen as the West High head coach before the start of the season. Lynn was the head coach for Clear Creek Amana and had also previously been the head coach for West High.

Her current roster includes four freshmen and two sophomores.

West High also unveiled new uniforms at the start of the season.

Game 1

CR Xavier   110   010  0  –  3  10 1

West High   000  010  0  –  1   6  1

Maria Steffen and Olivia Richards; Eva Burbidge and Rylee Goodfellow.

W – Steffen   L – Eva Burbidge

2B – CRX: Keera Bell, Charlotte Richards

Game 2

CR Xavier  004  012  2  –  9  11  3

West High 000  000  1  –  1   4   2

Maria Steffen, Miyako Coffey (6) and Olivia Richards; Kylie Heisdorffer, Ryleigh Mulcahey (7) and Jaclyn Bakken.

W – Steffen, L – Heisdorffer.

2B – CRX: Steffen (2).