—Photo by Iowa Central athletics iowa central players celebrate after Kyra Kain's homerun in their doubleheader against Northeast on Monday.

A strong start for the 21st-ranked (NJCAA Div. II) Iowa Central softball squad here on Monday led to some complacency in the eyes of head coach Bo Tjebben.

That allowed Northeast Iowa Community College to leave Rogers Park with a split.

Scores were 15-4 in favor of the Tritons and 6-2 Cougars in the nightcap.

Tjebben’s squad flexed its muscle in the opener, as lead-off batter Natalie Rasmussen had four hits and scored three times. Josephine Moore and Jozie Kerr both slugged grand slams for Iowa Central (25-9 overall, 10-6 in the ICCAC).

Jersey Hawf was 3-for-4 with a home run, three runs scored and three RBI in the rout. Kyra Kain went 2-for-2 with two runs scored, as the Tritons plated 15 runs in the first two innings and never looked back in the five-inning romp.

The good times came to an abrupt end, though, as Iowa Central managed just three hits and struck out 10 times against Addison Murilla in the second contest.

“It was kind of a harsh lesson in being focused and more consistent the entire day,” Tjebben said. “Definitely a learning experience. I’m not taking anything away from (Murilla) – she had a really good curve and rise(ball). We started to chase and were popping everything up. After a productive first game (offensively), we didn’t show much discipline or patience.

“Again, it speaks to the strength of this conference. You have to come ready to play every single time out. You just never know in softball, so credit Northeast Iowa.”

Kyra Kain hit a two-run homer for the lone Triton runs in the second contest.

The Cougars are now 16-16 and 6-10.

Iowa Central closes the first half of its ICCAC schedule on Thursday at Iowa Lakes. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. in Estherville.