WEBSTER CITY – The two losses on the field weren’t nearly as devastating as the personnel loss that the Webster City softball team will face going forward.

Sophomore right fielder Haley Flaws suffered a high left ankle sprain while warming up for the team’s third and final game of the Lynx Invitational on Saturday and she will be out of the lineup for the foreseeable future, possibly for the remainder of the season.

“She rolled her ankle in warm-ups before the third game … they told her at the emergency room that she’ll probably be out for a while,” WCHS head coach Jess Howard said. “My guess would be at the end of the season if she comes back. She’s supposed to go back to the doctor in five to 10 days to see about the progress.”

Hitting out of the No. 2 slot in the lineup, Haley Flaws had been one of the team’s most consistent sticks up to this point in the season. A slap-hitter from the left side, she put together a .526 average through the team’s first five games.

“She had been doing a good job of hitting for us from the left side,” Howard said. “It’s definitely a loss for us, but hopefully we’ll have somebody step up and fill that spot for us.”

Haley Flaws went 3 for 3 with a run scored and RBI in the Lynx 5-3 victory over Des Moines Hoover in the team’s first outing on Saturday. Taylor McKinney roped two base hits and touched the plate twice, Allie Flaws had a single and two RBI, and Cassidy Nerland added a base knock and RBI.

WCHS out hit Hoover 7-6 and led wire-to-wire. Pitcher Gabbi Hoversten walked two and struck out three.

The Lynx (6-7) were unable to sustain the momentum going forward and dropped back-to-back games to West Marshall, 6-0, and 11th-ranked (Class 1A) Martensdale St. Marys, 4-2.

West Marshall hurler Kalli Malloy had her way with WCHS and piled up 10 strikeouts. Allie Flaws had the most success with two base hits in three plate appearances. Kali Dawson, Taylor Schnathorst and Courtney Lampman all added a base knock.

“(West Marshall) had one of the better pitchers we’ve seen so far and the girls did nice job of putting the ball in play,” Howard said. “I wasn’t disappointed with the way the girls played on Saturday. We were able to keep it close for the most part.”

Martensdale St. Marys touched Hoversten for a pair of first-inning runs and then added two more in the fifth for some breathing room. WCHS had its chances, but stranded seven runners on base, including five in scoring position.

McKinney found a hole for a RBI base hit in the seventh to close the gap to two runs and WCHS had the tying runners on base before MSM pitcher Kylie Sherwood was able to induce a ground ball for the final out.

On the day, WCHS hit just .226 as a team (17 of 75) and went without an extra-base hit. Allie Flaws had four of those singles.