Riding the arm of Josie Brackey and Nos. 3 and 4 hitters Whitney Thompson and Morgan Aalgaard the Lake Mills softball team won its fifth game in a row Monday 9-3 over North Iowa.

The Bulldogs (11-2 overall, 4-1 NIC) watched Brackey strike out 12 Bison hitters and only allow three hits in a complete game victory.

“She goes into it with the mentality that she has the capability to strike everyone,” Lake Mills head coach Stacie Gaskill said. “This is the first conference game that I’ve had her start and she’s done a great job.”

Brackey took advantage of aggressive North Iowa hitters as she located her pitches up in the zone, a spot the Bison hitters couldn’t lay off.

Brackey held North Iowa scoreless for five innings before the Bison grabbed three runs in the bottom of the sixth, but it didn’t matter much because the game was already decided at that point, Thompson and Aalgaard made sure of that.

Thompson and Aalgaard went a combined 4-for-9 with seven RBIs.

Thompson got the scoring started in the first inning when she brought in Sammy Nelson on a fielder’s choice to put the Bulldogs up 1-0 early.

She doubled in the second inning to drive in another run and Aalgaard followed with an RBI of her own on a fielder’s choice.

Thompson added two more RBIs in the fourth and Aalgaard added another to put Lake Mills in front 8-0 before North Iowa would even score.

“It helped that we have speed in the first two, then we have the Nos. 3 and 4 hitters drive them in,” Gaskill said.

The win helped keep the Bulldogs near the top of the conference and they will continue to defend their position Wednesday against a tough Garner-Hayfield team.

Lake Mills 9, North Iowa 3

Lake Mills – 103 401 0 – 9 11 2

North Iowa – 000 003 0 – 3 3 2

WP – Josie Brackey 7 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 12 K