STATE CENTER — It’s been a long season for the South Hamilton softball team. The Hawks endured a rough start and a not-so-friendly Heart of Iowa Athletic Conference slate, which can lead to some frustration.

It didn’t get any better for South High, as the Hawks endured a 14-2 setback at the hands of West Marshall in a HOIAC matchup held this past Monday at the West Marshall Softball Fields.

Despite trailing 5-2 at the end of the first inning, the Hawks were outscored 9-0 over the next four frames, which ended the game via the mercy rule.

South High tumbled to 4-20 overall and remained winless in conference play with a 0-13 record. The Trojans improved to 12-13 overall with a 5-8 mark within the HOIAC.

At 7:30 p.m. tonight, the Hawks will take on PCM in a conference matchup on the campus of PCM High School in Prairie City. In their previous meeting, which took place on June 7, the Mustangs defeated South High via a 16-1 final score.

The rematch with PCM is South Hamilton’s regular season finale.

The Hawks will enter the Class 2A-Region 4 tournament to end the week, playing host to Woodward-Granger at 7 p.m. on Friday at the MPAC. Woodward-Granger is currently 2-18.

No stats from the Hawks against West Marshall were available as of press time.