Perfect Game Easter Bash
April 8th, 2023
Urbandale, IA
The Perfect Game One Day Easter Bash was another exciting day of softball. The weather was perfect, the competition was great and there were plenty of homeruns to go around. There were two 4-0 teams, the Southeast Iowa All Starts 16u Gold- Jones and Alliance Select 18u Nolte. Both teams scored over 30 runs in four games.
The overall hitting top performer this weekend was leadoff batter Leanna Watts (Waukee, IA 2025) of the Central Iowa Riptide Elite. Watts went 12 for 14 at the plate, boasting one home run, two doubles and seven RBIs. She has a contact approach with a very athletic stance and a smooth effortless swing. She uses her lower body well which resulted in several extra base hits. Watts is also a very talented outfielder that has speed and range to go along with her strong hitting ability.
Another Central Iowa Riptide Elite who performed well at the plate this weekend was Zoey Dickson (Menlo, IA 2024). Dickson has a very athletic stance and is very aggressive at the plate. Her aggressiveness paid off this weekend as she was able to barrel up several balls going 8 for 12, including a double, triple and two homeruns. Dickson also knocked in seven, while scoring herself seven times.
Lanie Meyer (Iowa City, IA 2025) of Southeast Iowa All Stars 16u Gold- Jones also had a great weekend at the plate. Meyer has a very confident plate approach, has great power transfer in her lower half and takes very aggressive cuts. She had six hits on the weekend, including two homeruns and tallied eight RBIs. She is also very patient at the plate, drawing two walks.
Meyer’s teammate Shanna Buford (Donnellson, IA 2024) is a 5’6’’ infielder who packs a ton of power in her small frame. Buford went 9 for 11 at the plate with three doubles. Buford has a well-balanced stance and confident plate approach. Buford works the count and can hit the ball to either side of the field.
Alliance Select 18u Blackford’s Lauren Hagedorn (Adel, IA 2026) got the job done both in the circle and at the plate. Hagedorn’s fastball currently tops out at 63mph, she also demonstrates excellent command, striking out 9 in 5 innings pitched in her first outing of the day. At the plate she has a well-balanced approach and showcases pure power utilizing her lower half to drive the ball deep. Hagedorn finished her day at the plate with five hits, including two home runs and a double and bringing in eight RBIs.
Urbandale’s Bri Tigges (Urbandale, IA 2024) a Des Moines Area Community College softball commit, was another top batting performer on the day. Tigges is a left-handed batter with a lot of speed which helps her turn singles into doubles and doubles in to triples. She went 5 for 6 on the day which included, a double, a triple, two homeruns and walked three times.
Braylen Conlon (Toddville, IA 2025) a 5’7” left-handed pitcher for Cedar Rapids Xavier is one to watch the next couple of years. Conlon demonstrates great command with her fastball which ranges from 58-61mph. and mixes in her pitches well. Conlon ended the weekend with 12 strikeouts in 5 innings pitched.
Maddie Gullion (West Des Moines, IA 2025) an outfielder for Iowa Gold Prospects- Gold, was also stellar at the plate this weekend. Gullion a 5’8” right-handed hitter has a knack for taking the outside pitch to the opposite field. Her size and speed played a big role in her success at the plate in which she had six hits on the day including two triples. Her teammate Nyah Hulbert (Norwalk, IA 2025) is another youngster with great speed on the bases and an unbelievably confident plate approach. Hulbert, a left-handed hitter, has a strong athletic build with plus base running abilities. Defensively, she gets a good read on the ball off the bat and with her speed can track nearly anything down. Hulbert and Gullion both have the ability to play at the next level if they should choose to do so.