March 28, 2024

Big sixth inning propels Raiders past Mustangs

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COLLINS — In Collins-Maxwell/Baxter’s three wins over Prairie City-Monroe’s softball team this season, the Raiders needed big sixth innings to pull away.

The third win came Wednesday night during the opening round of the Class 3A Region 7 tournament. With the game tied at 4-all after five innings, CMB plated 10 runs in the sixth inning and ended the game early, winning 14-4 in six innings.

The Raiders never trailed but needed a big inning to eliminate long-time rival PCM. CMB sent 12 batters to the plate in the frame. The Raiders (23-8) laced four doubles in the inning and were also walked three times and hit twice.

“I didn’t know that,” CMB coach Troy Houge said of the three big six innings. “I guess we’ll tell them that every inning is the sixth inning. Plain and simple, the best thing I can say, is we did a good job of making adjustments in those games.”

The win pushes the Raiders into the regional semifinals. The Region 7 semifinals is 7 p.m. Friday in Collins against Heart of Iowa Conference foe Saydel.

The Eagles defeated Central Decatur, 12-2, on Wednesday.

CMB plated two runs in the first inning to take an early lead. Junior Mikayla Eslinger smoked a two-run double to score junior Megan Ritter and junior Abbey Kahler, who walked and was hit by a pitch, respectively.

The Raiders drew seven walks in the game and were hit by four pitches.

“We needed to stay patient at the plate,” Houge said. “We waited for her to throw us a pitch we could hit.”

PCM junior Kayla Jennings gave up the two-run double to Eslinger but tied the game in the third when she drilled a two-out, two-run single.

Junior Brooke Nicholson doubled with two outs, junior Jayci Vos walked and then junior Abby Waddell hit an infield single to load the bases.

Nicholson was 2-for-3 in the game. She scored her second run of the game in the fifth to help the Mustangs once again rally back to tie it.

After PCM tied the game at 2-all, CMB scored two runs with two outs to regain an advantage. Kahler and senior Payge Jurgens collected back-to-back walks, but pinch runner Husak was retired at third after Eslinger hit into a fielder’s choice.

Freshman Hannah Caple singled to load the bases, then eighth-grader Mikayla Houge blasted a two-run double to the gap in left-center field.

The lead stayed at 4-2 for CMB into the fourth inning when the game was paused for a 40-minute lightning delay.

Jennings struck out the CMB side of the fourth inning, and the Mustangs tied the game at 4-all with another big two-out hit. This time, junior Courtney Bridges hit a two-run single back up the middle against Kahler.

Nicholson began the inning with an infield single and then Waddell put two runners on base with a bunt single. With runners on second and third, Bridges’ two-run single tied it.

“PCM’s record is deceiving,” Coach Houge said. “They are not as bad as the record shows. We had to fight for this one.”

CMB left two runners on in the fifth, and then PCM (11-18) stranded a runner at second in the sixth.

Eighth-grader Holly Jessen started the Raiders’ 10-run inning with a lead-off walk in the sixth. Sophomore Jordynn Wesselink bunted and reached base on an error. Ritter bunted with a runner at third and reached base when PCM tried to pickoff Jessen at third.

Pinch hitter Veronica Condon, a junior, drove in the game-winning run with a bases-loaded walk. Kahler followed the walk with a two-run double to make it 7-4.

“Hitting is contagious,” Coach Houge said. “I didn’t envision that outcome. I knew we could score runs, but that was an unusual way to score them.

“I really wanted to get something on the board in that sixth inning and go into the seventh with the lead. I didn’t see 10 runs that inning.”

Jurgens walked to load the bases before Eslinger’s second two-run double of the night made it 9-4. Eslinger was 2-for-4 with four RBIs and two runs scored.

“The first one, I felt pretty confident about the first hit,” Eslinger said. “Then they started throwing me more inside pitches, and that is something I have been struggling with but working on. It was good to finally hit that last one and help the team out.

“We all have a lot of confidence in each other. We lean on each other when we need to. It was a team effort tonight. We all hit well tonight, and it finally showed in that last inning.”

Caple was hit by a pitch for the second time in the game to extend the inning, and then Houge made it 11-4 with a two-run double.

That base hit chased Jennings in favor of junior Chelbie Gillespie. Houge finished 2-for-4 with four RBIs and one run scored.

“I just wanted to help the team out,” Houge said. “We needed to get some runs across the board in those spots, and I am glad I was able to help us get back in front.

“It was an exciting game. We came out and just crushed the ball in the sixth. We hit well overall tonight, and hopefully we can do that in the games to come.”

In her second at-bat of the inning, Jessen was hit by a pitch. That set up Ritter’s two-run double, and Jessen ended the game by run-rule when she scored on a wild pitch.

Jurgens walked twice, singled and scored two runs. Kahler had two RBIs, freshman Abby Husak scored two runs and Ritter had two RBIs and scored twice. Jessen walked, was hit by a pitch and scored twice.

Kahler got the start in the circle for CMB and improved to 12-4 after the win. She allowed four earned runs on six hits and fanned eight in six innings.

Jennings (9-13) took the loss. She allowed 11 earned runs on seven hits and walked seven while hitting three and striking out five. Gillespie came into the game with no outs in the sixth inning and got one out, allowed the two-run double to Ritter and hit Jessen.