Hefel's big day helps Pride close 2025 with two wins over Graceland
LAMONI, Iowa - In the final day of the 2025 regular season for the Clarke Unviersity softball team, the Pride came away with a pair of wins over Graceland University by 9-6 and 2-1 final scores in Lamoni, Iowa on Sunday afternoon.
In game one, both teams had big offensive innings, first for CU in the top of the second as they produced a five-run inning to break a 1-1 tie to lead 6-1 with an RBI single from Kaylie Holtam, Harlee Makue-Vasconcellos was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded then Lauren Hefel produced a bases clearing double on the very next batter for her second run-scoring hit in as many innings after a single and an error got the Pride on the board in the first.
An Olivia Sikora RBI double in the third would make it 7-1 after the top of the inning but the Yellowjackets put up their own rally with a run in the bottom of the third, then their big inning coming in the bottom of the sixth with an RBI single, a bases loaded walk, and a two-RBI single to make it a four-run inning and cut the Clarke lead to 8-6 heading to the seventh.
CU got to eight on a Kynadee Harris RBi double in the top of the sixth and Meredith Gatto gave herself an insurance run in the seventh with a sacrifice fly to make it 9-6 as she was able to close out the win in the circle in the bottom of the seventh with just her second three-up, three-down inning of the game.
Gatto pitched through traffic all game to earn her 10th pitching win of the season with her 16th complete game of the year as she allowed all six runs as earned run on nine hits with four walks and seven strikeouts.
The sophomore Dubuque native finished her 2025 season as the new single season strikeout record holder for Pride softball at a final season total of 156, 21 more than the previous best season, in 137 innings pitched, which doesn't qualify as a top-10 season in innings pitched in program history for her 7.97 strikeouts per seven innings average also setting a new program record at CU. Gatto's 3.17 earned run average falls just shy of a top-10 season as opposing hitters hit .234 against her, with that mark ranking seventh all time in program history.
Sunday's game two would see more of a pitchers' duel between GU's Sammi Bradshaw and junior Payge Pyszka of the Pride as Pyszka would come out on top of the matchup for her ninth win of the season and her ninth complete game as she allowed just one earned run on four hits with no walks and a season-high tying four strikeouts.
Hefel would once again do the damage on offense as she would come up clutch with a two-RBI single in the top of the sixth, scoring both Alicia Casas and Mya Durr to take a 1-0 Graceland lead to give Clarke a 2-1 lead late in the agme.
The freshman from Asbury, Iowa native, Hefel would finish the day with four hits and five RBIs to close out a strong freshman season at the plate that saw her finish leading the Pride with 43 hits, a .336 batting average, 30 RBIs, 17 doubles, and on-base percentage at .407 to close the year with a .876 OPS.
Clarke softball finished with a final overall record of 23-23, their most wins under head coach Garland Shirley and the first time a Shirley led team had a record at .500 or better as the 23 wins ties the eighth-most wins in program history.
The Pride are expected return the majority of their primary lineup and all of their pitching staff heading into the 2025-26 school year that saw the team finish with some of their best offensive numbers over the last 10 years and team pitching numbers that near top-10 seasons in the CU softball record book.