Your Prep Sports

After dropping a pair of games to quality opponents on back-to-back nights earlier in the week West Branch was seeking to pick up some steam for the postseason in its regular season finale on Friday.

Senior pitcher Kaiya Luneckas provided the boost the Bears were looking for entering postseason play.

Luneckas tossed a no-hitter striking out 16 and added a pair of hits and an RBI as West Branch closed the regular season with an 8-0 win over Tipton (4-11) in a River Valley Conference South Division tilt in Tipton.

West Branch improved to 6-8 on the season and will open postseason play on Wednesday at home against Pekin (7-6).

Luneckas gave West Branch an early 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the opening inning and then shut the Tigers down allowing just walks in the first and sixth innings.

The senior right-hander struck out at least two in each inning and completed the no-hitter by fanning the final four batters she faced following a two-out walk in the sixth.

West Branch put the game away with a seven-run fourth inning that featured a two-run double by Mackenzie Heise.

Heise was one of four Bears with two hits on Friday going 2-for-2 with a  pair of RBI and a run scored.

Nicki Henson had two hits and scored two runs while Lexi Klinkkammer had two hits and scored a run.
Taylor Thein had a hit and drove in two and Sasha Koenig had a hit and scored a run.

West Branch              100  700  0  –  8  11  1

Tipton                          000  000  0  –  0   0   8

W – Kaiya Luneckas              L – Taylor Wendel

2B – WB: Mackenzie Heise, Lexi Klinkkammer

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