GALESBURG, Illinois - The Knox College Softball team, dropped a pair of games in Iowa this afternoon to conference opponents Grinnell 0-18 and 0-14.

In game one, the Prairie Fire came out of the gates fast in the first inning with a single from Maddie Hicks but were unable to get on the scoreboard. Grinnell brought in three runs and headed into the second inning with a 3-0 lead. The tale of the first inning repeated itself in the second as the Prairie Fire got a runner on first off a single from Maddie Poetzinger, but once again could not capitalize. The Pioneers managed to bring in three runs in the second inning, five runs in the third inning, and seven runs in the fourth running to finish off Knox in game one. 

In game two, the Prairie Fire were held scoreless to begin the first inning. The Pioneers brought in three quick runs and headed into the second inning with a 3-0 lead. After keeping Knox scoreless and scoring nine runs in the second inning. Grinnell took a 12-0 lead into the third inning. After the Pioneers added another run in the third and fourth innings, the Prairie Fire looked for a response but came up short at the end. 

Hicks led the way for the Prairie Fire with 2 hits this afternoon. 

"Grinnell is always a tough team," commented coach Casey Hipp. "They've got a little bit of everything and we lost ourselves a bit today and let them shine. We can't win games without scoring some runs and with that, we just need to be more aggressive in the box. We are going to keep working hard and continue to work on the things that we can control."

The Prairie Fire will look to bounce back this Saturday at home against conference opponents Cornell College. The doubleheader is scheduled for 1 pm and 3 pm at the Knox College Softball Field.