By Cyote Williams | Times Vedette

The powers to be never wanted this game to happen, it seems. ACGC baseball (3-3-1) hosted West Central Valley (2-5-1) on Friday, June 6. This game was previously postponed due to weather on June 3. Now, it ends in a tie after the field lights went out. ACGC fell behind early and would not get its offense going until the sixth inning. Going into the bottom of the sixth, ACGC was down, 3-0. A four-run burst gave the Chargers the lead, 4-3. WCV tied the game, 4-4, in the top of the seventh. Perhaps the Charger offense shocked the power grid, causing the lights to go out sometime in the seventh inning. These two are set to face off again on June 23. ACGC fans should bring an umbrella — and a flashlight, just in case.

By Cyote Williams | Times Vedette

The Panorama baseball team (2-6) traveled to West Central Valley (3-5-1) on Monday, June 9. Panorama took an early 3-2 lead over WCV at the end of the first inning. The Panthers extended that lead to two runs in the top of the third to take the score to 4-2. However, the boys were unable to hold on and gave up three runs in the final two innings to their conference foe. Panorama looks to bounce back against Ogden (3-11) at home tonight, Tuesday, June 10. Panorama then travels to Madrid (4-5) on Wednesday, June 11, and hits the road again to face Van Meter (11-4) for a double-header on Thursday, June 12.

Photos by Betty Cooper

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By Cyote Williams | Times Vedette

The Panorama softball team (3-6) returned to West Central Valley (4-4) on Monday, June 9, two days after its win in the WCV Championship. Panorama was unable to pick up back-to-back wins over the Wildcats.

“We started off slow and didn’t have the ball bounce our way the first inning. Made a couple mistakes that cost us, but the girls never gave up and kept pushing through to the end. We out-hit WCV but just couldn’t string enough of those together till it was too late. Credit to them for coming out strong, and we have to turn the page to the next game and be ready to go,” Head Coach Ismael Galvan said.

Lexi Galvan led the way on offense with two RBIs and three hits. Bridgete White and Arilyan Steenblock had an RBI each. Nine Panthers had hits in the game, tallying 12 total, two more than West Central Valley. Andrea Knode spent six innings on the mound, recording one strikeout. Panorama’s next game is against Ogden (6-5) at home, today, Tuesday, June 10. Panorama then plays at Madrid (3-7) on Wednesday, June 11, and then at No. 1 Van Meter (10-2) in a double header on Thursday, June 12.

By Cyote Williams | Times Vedette

The Panorama softball team (3-6) picked up two wins at the West Central Valley Classic on Saturday, June 7.

Game one vs. No. 4 Ankeny Christian (5-1), 7-5 W

The Panthers pulled off a massive comeback to defeat the ranked Eagles. Ankeny Christian led, 4-0, at the top of the third. Panorama scored one run in the bottom of the third, to take the score to 4-1. Panorama scored three more runs in the bottom of the fifth, tying the game, 4-4. The Eagles scored one run in the top of the seventh to retake the lead, only to have Panorama snatch it right back from them in the bottom of the seventh to secure the 7-5 win.

“It was a great win against the fourth-ranked eagles from Ankeny Christian. The girls did a great job of executing plays and putting the ball in play. Big win for our Panther softball program and could not be more proud of this group of girls. Great pitching performance from Lexi Galvan going seven innings striking out nine and got some big hits at crucial times from several of our girls coming out with the win,” Head Coach Ismael Galvan said.

Game two vs. West Central Valley (3-4), 8-3 W

Galvan said this of his Panthers performance in the championship game:

“It was great to go into the championship game of the WCV classic after a big win vs. a ranked opponent. The girls were able to reset and face off against WCV, and they did a great job getting a fast start, putting up five runs in the first two innings. Proud of the girls for the fight they showed today and coming out tourney champs, and it’s great to see them coming together as a team and playing for each other.”

Bridgete White had three RBIs, and Andrea Knode, Arilyan Steenblock and Leah Kastner all added one RBI. Knode and Lexi Galvan split time on the mound. Knode struck out two batters in her four and two-thirds innings, Galvan also struck out two in her one and one-third innings on the bump.

By Cyote Williams | Times Vedette

Des Moines Christian will be leaving the West Central Activities Conference to join the Little Hawkeye Conference for the athletics starting in the 2026-2027 school year. Teams in the conference will be Dallas Center-Grimes, Indianola, Newton, Norwalk, Oskaloosa, Pella, Pella Christian, Ames and Des Moines Christian. Other West Central Activities school, Van Meter, was invited to the conference but declined earlier this year in January. With the Des Moines Christian departure, the WCAC will go from 11 teams to 10.