OTTUMWA — Maybe the boom will be followed by a big blast, because on Monday night at Huston Field, there were no fireworks.

Save those for late Saturday at the Ottumwa Classic.

The fuse has yet to be lit to start the week for the Ottumwa softball squad and Hall of Fame head coach Frank Huston.

That lack of firepower and punch benefited the Des Moines Lincoln Railsplitters big time.

Lincoln came up with two huge victories on Monday night in a key CIML Metro tussle on the field christened with Huston’s namesake. With an opening game marathon 7-5, 11-inning victory — head coach Diana Repp’s squad looked for the sweep against the seventh-ranked Bulldogs (21-7).

That’s exactly what the Railsplitters (22-9) got as the squad from Polk County went home happy by stealing game two at Huston’s house, 4-3.

With the two victories, Lincoln is now two-and-a-half games in front of the Bulldogs for first place in the Metro. Lincoln’s conference mark stands at 12-2 while Ottumwa falls to 9-4. Des Moines East, ranked sixth, entered play on Monday with a 10-2 Metro standing.

Ottumwa hosts its pioneering classic on Fourth of July weekend in the coming days.

Repp, a 1987 Fairfield grad and all-state player, ranked these two victories right near the top in her four years in charge of the ’Rails. She sent Lincoln to state in 2007, the same year Ottumwa finished in third place up in Fort Dodge.

Courtney Trotter’s long fly ball off the extended glove of OHS eighth-grade centerfielder Sammy Garrett in the top of the 11th gave Lincoln a 6-5 lead. The Railsplitters would tack on an insurance run with a RBI groundout.

Repp talked about the impressive sweep, aided by nine Bulldog errors, five in the opener.

“It’s kind of huge,” said Diana Repp. “It does make that long trip back home a little bit better.”

Huston talked about his team’s sloppy play on defense.

“The last couple of weeks we’ve been winning a lot games when we’ve been a little loose on defense. But it hasn’t caused us to come up on the short end. But it did tonight,” said Huston.

Sam Claman earned the two wins inside the circle for Lincoln. She finished off the Bulldogs by not allowing a hit after taking over for game-two starter Leah Frette in the fourth.