CEDAR RAPIDS — The Iowa Central softball team dropped a pair of tight games with Kirkwood in a Top-15 ICCAC doubleheader showdown here Wednesday.

Scores were 4-1 and 6-5 in favor of the 14th-ranked Eagles.

Earlier this year, the No. 10 Tritons (41-8 overall, 18-6 in league) split a twinbill at Rogers Park with Kirkwood, winning 4-0 after falling 10-7.

In the opener, Carly Ryan supplied the offense with a seventh inning solo home run. Bre Nolte had a double as the Eagles (40-14, 17-7) scored one in the fourth and three in the sixth.

Iowa Central used a three-run seventh to tie the nightcap at 5-all before Kirkwood plated the winning run in the bottom of the final inning.

Nolte had two home runs, finishing 2-for-4 with five RBI. Both Jayda Longa nd Kyra Kain had two hits with Long scoring twice.

“It was two good games between two solid teams,” ICCC head coach Bo Tjebben said. “We had a few mistakes and the ball didn’t bounce our way. Sometimes it goes that way in this sport.”

The Tritons remain a game up on Kirkwood in the league standings for second place behind No. 4 Des Moines Area.

Iowa Central heads to Estherville to face Iowa Lakes on Saturday and Mason City on Sunday for a doubleheader with North Iowa Area to conclude the regular season.