Greene County committed nine errors and lost at home in Jefferson on Monday night to North Polk (Alleman) by a final of 17-8 in Heart of Iowa Activities Conference softball. The game went back and forth the first few innings and was tied 5-5 through four. NP led 6-5 after four before blowing the game open with 10 runs in the sixth. The Comets improved to 7-3 overall and 3-2 in the league while Coach Tom Kennedy’s Rams fell to 6-3 overall and 3-3 in the HOIAC . The action was broadcast on KG98.

Hannah Promes pitched the first 5-2/3 innings and took the loss with relief help from Samantha Hardaway. Sophie Swygman went the distance and picked up the win for NP, allowing 16 hits, but striking out 10.

The teams combined for 34 hits with 18 for the Comets and 16 for the Rams. Promes walked once and singled four times and Carleigh Paup had a triple, two doubles, and a single in five trips. Megan Carey had three singles with two base hits for Jenna Beyers, and Megan Durbin, Sydney Koch and Laurin Lyons each singled. Carey had two runs batted in with one RBI each from Paup, Koch, Durbin, and Hardaway.

Neither team was ever retired in order. The Comets scored in all but the fourth innings and the Rams scored in all except the fourth and fifth. Carolyn Steffen entered the game hitting .091 for the Comets, but went three for four plus a walk. Steffen hit the game’s only home run, a two-run shot in the 10-run sixth, and she did it from the ninth spot in the batting order.

Greene County plays tonight on KG98 in Perry around 7:30 p.m.