After dropping their first eight games of the season, Community softball has bounced back to win nine of their last 10, evening their record at 9-9.

The slow start was deceiving. Five of the team’s eight losses were by just one run—it was only a matter of time before the Ironmen swung their way out of the rut.

Senior pitcher Ava Prevo said the team wasn’t dealing with anything unusual—they just couldn’t finish games.

“At the start of the season, our defense was great, but our hitting wasn’t clicking,” Prevo said. “[Now] everything’s just starting to come together. [There’s] more defense and hitting together.”

Second baseman Tatum Yokley said things began to turn around with the team’s first win—a 15-0 shutout over Richwoods on April 12.

“It just gave us a bunch of confidence, and we knew that we had a bunch of good players,” Yokley said. “We just had to come together and win.”

Prevo pitched a complete game in that shutout, one of two on the season.

That win marked the start of a hot streak for Community, who have since gone 9-1. Their lone loss came in extra innings to No. 4-ranked Metamora.

Four of those wins came in Big Twelve play, giving the Ironmen a share of first place. In those conference games, Community outscored opponents 13-1.

Prevo pitched 19 innings across the four games, gave up no runs and recorded 26 strikeouts.

She also led the team in RBIs during that stretch, going 7-for-11 with eight runs batted in.

Prevo credits the surge to her offseason preparation.

It’s “all the work I put in before the season started,” Prevo said.

Yokley has also been a key contributor on offense, ranking top two in batting average, hits, RBIs and triples. She gets on base nearly half the time with a .419 average and leads the Ironmen with 17 RBIs.

“It just feels good to know that I’ve been a big part of the team’s success,” Yokley said.

She said her performance has been helped by both coaching and support from her teammates.

“My teammates are really encouraging,” Yokley said.

Seven Ironmen are batting over .300. Junior Hayley Michels leads the team with a .459 average. McKenna Baughman has a team-best three home runs, and Avery Anderson leads in earned run average and ranks second in wins.

“Winning these games has connected us a lot more,” Yokley said. “We trust each other a lot more, and that goes a long way in just helping us win.”

Looking ahead, Yokley said the team is focused on showing that their 0-8 start isn’t who they really are.

“I want to have a really good run [in the] postseason, and just show everyone that our 0-8 start wasn’t who we really are,” Yokley said. “We are a really good team when we play our best.”