Raiders punch historic ticket to state

COLLINS — Last year’s regional final loss to eventual champion Iowa City Regina was felt throughout the offseason by the Collins-Maxwell/Baxter softball team.

The loss hurt, and the Raiders didn’t want to experience that feeling again.

With another shot to clinch that elusive state tournament berth, the Raiders got over the hump Monday night during the Class 3A Region 7 championship game.

Junior Abbey Kahler pitched a three-hitter in the circle, and freshman Hannah Caple delivered a gigantic two-run double in the third inning of the title game. The No. 14 Raiders punched a ticket into their first-ever state softball tournament following a 4-1 win over North Polk.

Playing in front of their home fans, the Raiders never trailed, scoring a single run in the top of the first inning before pulling away with a three-run third.

“After last year, they talked all offseason about not letting that happen again,” CMB coach Troy Houge said. “They set two goals this year — to win conference and get to state. They never wavered from those goals. We had some tough games, but they stayed focused and did what they had to do to get there.

“It feels awesome. This group of girls are just outstanding.”

CMB’s first state tournament game will be against third-ranked and defending state champion Solon at 3 p.m. on July 19 in Fort Dodge.

“It feels amazing. It hasn’t set in yet, but I am sure when I get home I will be excited,” said Kahler, who improved to 13-4 in the circle.

Kahler won her second game against North Polk this season. In her first win, the junior allowed one hit and fanned four. The Comets fared a little better Monday, but Kahler still held North Polk to three hits and again struck out four, including the final out of the game.

“Abbey was on the losing end of this last year. This was her chance to get on the right end,” Houge said. “She allowed four hits against this team in two games. That’s phenomenal. She got a great effort from her defense, too.

“It was a total team effort tonight,” Houge said. “Nobody was afraid to make the play tonight. We were ready to make plays all night long.”

The Raiders grabbed an early lead in the first inning. Kahler singled with two outs and then was replaced on the bases by courtesy runner Abby Husak. Senior Payge Jurgens walked and then junior Mikayla Eslinger delivered an RBI single to make it 1-0.

Husak came around to score on Eslinger’s hit. She was called safe after the homeplate umpire ruled that North Polk catcher Trisha Sporra obstructed Husak’s path to the plate.

CMB (25-8) didn’t need a controversial obstruction call in the third inning. Sophomore Katie Camp began the frame with an infield single and then took second when Kahler grounded out to the pitcher.

Jurgens sailed a double down the right-field line that dropped just in front of North Polk outfielder Maddy Hill. Eslinger’s RBI infield single scored Camp to make it 2-0 and then Caple smoked a double to the left-center field gap that pushed the Raiders’ lead to 4-0.

“I think she made a mistake inside, and I capitalized on it,” Caple said. “I love inside pitches so I just turned on it and got it to the gap. I was pretty excited.”

Houge added, “That was a huge hit. That probably was the biggest hit of her career so far. She made the adjustment from the first at-bat, got a pitch she wanted and drilled it.”

That was all the Raiders scored in the game, but that’s all they needed as Kahler made sure the Comets played from behind the entire night.

The Comets (21-13) scored their only run in the bottom of the third inning. Becca Ley hit a one-out infield single and then stole second. Ellie Owen singled to put runners on the corners, and then Ley scored when Audrey Ley laid down a bunt in front of the circle.

Kahler (13-4) got out of the jam when she snagged a hard line drive in the circle. The Comets went down in order against Kahler in the final four innings, and Kahler ended the game with a strikeout of Paige Sandberg.

“The one before that was pretty good, too,” said Caple about the pitch before the final strike. “Abbey threw another one, and it came just a tad more inside. It was a perfect pitch. I was so excited for Abbey. She pitched a great game.”

Eslinger finished with two hits and two RBIs, with eighth-grader Mikayla Houge and junior Megan Ritter also had two hits.

Jurgens doubled and scored in the third and walked twice. She now has 23 walks on the season and her on base percentage reached .550 during the win.

“I have been waiting for this since my eighth grade year. I am so proud of my team,” said Jurgens, who is the only senior in the starting lineup. “They helped me reach a dream. It feels so amazing. I’m at a lost for words. This feels like a dream.”

Owen had two of the Comets’ three hits. Sophie Swygman (11-6) took the loss in the circle for North Polk. She allowed four earned runs on 10 hits.

The Raiders will take a five-game win streak into the state tournament. CMB has now won eight of its last nine games and 10 of its last 12.

CMB’s path to the state tournament included wins over three Heart of Iowa Conference teams who beat them during the regular season.

“You never know what is going to happen when you play three conference schools in the postseason,” Coach Houge said. “We showed why we were conference champs. I just can’t say enough about this whole group.

“They wanted it. No one was going to give it to us, but we took it.”

Solon (32-9) defeated Center Point-Urbana 6-3 in its regional final game. The Spartans have won three straight and 18 of their last 20. Included in the three-game win streak is a 12-9 win over Heart of Iowa Conference’s Roland-Story in the regional semifinals.