-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Faith Shirbroun of St. Edmond attempts to slide around Iowa Falls on Monday at Rogers Park

St. Edmond has reached the point where it now fully expects to sweep doubleheaders like Monday’s North Central Conference twinbill with Iowa Falls-Alden.

As head coach Bill Shirbroun points out, though, wanting and doing are often two entirely different trains of thought in softball.

The fifth-ranked (Class 1A) Gaels secured a pair of victories at Rogers Park over the Cadets, winning 14-4 in five innings and 6-3 to keep pace with Algona and Clear Lake atop the North Central Conference standings at the league’s midway point.

Despite falling behind early in both contests, St. Edmond (15-3 overall, 7-1 in the NCC) ultimately took control and proved to be the better squad. That took more than the Gaels just showing up at the field, as Shirbroun pointed out afterward.

“You still have to go out and execute,” Shirbroun said. “They have a good pitcher and some solid hitters. There is talent in that dugout, and they’re going to compete. Very few teams out there are good enough to win conference games without (breaking a sweat).

“We did what we needed to do. We weren’t always great with runners in scoring position or taking advantage the opportunities we had (offensively), for instance, so we had to manufacture some runs. We’re still working on being better with timely hitting, moving the runners and being smart with our decisions both in the field and on the basepaths. We’re making progress, but that doesn’t mean we’re there yet.”

After IF-A (4-8, 2-4) jumped ahead early with three unearned runs in the opener, St. Edmond exploded for eight runs in the second. Olivia Andrew, Toryn Helle, Rihanna Myers and Myrah Lemon all had RBI singles during the rally.

Helle finished with three hits, two driven in, and worked five innings without allowing an earned run from the circle. She struck out three.

Myers and Lemon added two hits each, with Myers and Andrew both driving in a pair. Six different Gaels scored twice.

Myers, Helle, Faith Shirbroun and Ella Vandi doubled.

In addition to the 11 hits, St. Edmond also drew eight walks and stole eight bases.

It took the Gaels a little longer to get rolling in the nightcap. The Cadets led 2-1 heading into the bottom of the fourth before St. Edmond turned the tide by tallying a run, then two in the fifth to gain the upper hand for good and a pair more in the sixth for good measure.

Helle had three RBI in the victory. Sophia Schlienz recorded two hits.

Freshman Breckyn Ulrich went the distance, giving up only one earned run to secure her first varsity victory of the season. The right-hander struck out three and made a trifecta of nifty plays on comebackers in the field as well.

The Gaels enduced four more walks and stole five bases, with Vandi swiping three.

“We left too many runners on (eight), but still found different ways to take care of business,” Shirbroun said. “It was good to see Breckyn persevere and field her position like that. She maybe didn’t have her best stuff, but did what she needed to do — which was kind of the theme of the night for us.”

St. Edmond returns to action on Wednesday back at home against Humboldt. The Gaels will then visit Central Springs on Thursday before facing a quartet of traditional Class 5A powers at the Jack North Waukee Northwest Tournament on Friday and Saturday: Urbandale, Bettendorf, Pleasant Valley and Southeast Polk.

ST. EDMOND 14, IOWA FALLS-ALDEN 4 (5)

St. Edmond 082 22 — 14 11 2

IF-A 300 10 — 4 5 5

WP–Toryn Helle (13-2; 5 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K). 2B–SE: Faith Shirbroun, Ella Vandi, Rihanna Myers, Toryn Helle; IF-A: Abigail Janssen. SB–SE: Baylor Ulrich 2, Sophia Schlienz, Jade Rock, Grace Crimmins, Ella Vandi, Myrah Lemon.

ST. EDMOND 6, IOWA FALLS-ALDEN 3

IF-A 110 000 1 — 3 6 5

St. Edmond 010 122 x — 6 6 4

WP–Breckyn Ulrich (1-0; 7 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K). SB–SE: Ella Vandi 3, Myrah Lemon, Rihanna Myers.