Tamed Tigerhawks

FORT DODGE — Colfax-Mingo’s lineup is daunting. The Class 1A No. 11 Tigerhawks came into their state tournament quarterfinal game against No. 7 Westwood batting .345 and averaging 7.4 runs per game.

The offense continued to be impressive against the fourth-seeded Rebels on Monday, but the other two parts of the game did not perform up to its ability.

Fifth-seeded Colfax-Mingo hit three home runs and tallied seven extra base hits at the plate, but senior Amy Russell was not sharp in the circle and the defense committed four errors behind her during an 11-9 loss at the Iowa Girls High School State Softball Championships at Harlan and Hazel Rogers Sports Complex.

“All the components have to come together, especially at this part of the season,” Colfax-Mingo coach Bryan Poulter said. “You can’t give up free stuff here. We saw where that caught up to us today. If we clean up even half of our mistakes, it would have been a big difference.”

The Tigerhawk offense made up for a less-than-sharp Russell in the circle, but the errors were too much to overcome. The Tigerhawks struggled with their bunt coverage. All four errors came off ground balls in the infield.

“We have made those plays before and just didn’t do it today,” Poulter said. “I am not sure if we were over-amped and just rushed. What I do know is there were plays to make and we couldn’t do it.”

Russell, senior Alivia Haley and junior Ries Wilson all hit solo home runs to help rally Colfax-Mingo (25-12) from an early 8-3 hole.

After the Tigerhawks tied the game at 9-all after four innings, Westwood (30-10) came right back with single runs in the fifth and seventh frames to grab its fifth straight win.

Sophomore Colbee Cunningham, who relieved Russell in the circle in the third inning, walked the lead-off batter in the fifth but came back with a strikeout. Kelsey Schilling then laid down a bunt that resulted in a Tigerhawk throwing error.

The fourth miscue of the game, and the second throwing error on a bunt, put runners on second and third with one out. A sacrifice fly by sophomore Katelyn Martian scored an unearned run that proved to be the difference.

“It was frustrating because we know we can make those plays,” said Wilson, who had two hits in the game, “I think the pressure kind of got to us a little bit. Unfortunately, that was the difference in the game.

“We definitely need to work on our small ball game defensively.”

Both teams opened the game with a three-run first inning.

Westwood, the visitors on the scoreboard, opened the game with a triple, walk and single against Russell. A fielding error allowed the third run to cross the plate.

In the bottom of the first inning, Cunningham put the Tigerhawks on the board with an RBI single and then sophomore Mac Brown followed with a two-run double, her 10th two base hit of the season.

Every time Colfax-Mingo grabbed momentum, Westwood took it away with a big inning. The Rebels plated five runs in the second inning to take an 8-3 lead. The frame included only two hits, but the Tigerhawks committed two more errors.

Russell was pulled after she walked the lead-off batter in the third. She allowed five earned runs on four hits with three strikeouts and two walks in two innings.

“It sure looked like she was over throwing today,” Poulter said. “It didn’t look smooth today. We might have stayed with her too long, but there were errors in there, too, so it was hard to dissect which was which.”

The Tigerhawks chipped away at their deficit with a pair of runs in the third. Russell led off the inning with her 1A-leading 15th home run of the season. She has homered in four straight games and has five during that stretch.

Junior Rhiannon Haley followed with a walk. She then stole second, took third on a wild pitch and then scored on an RBI ground out by Brown. Rhiannon Haley had one hit, two walks and three runs scored in the game, and Brown drove in a team-high three runs.

Cunningham gave up an earned run in the fourth as Westwood extended its lead to 9-5. The Rebels scored the run on two infield singles and a bloop single that barely reached the grass in right field.

The Tigerhawks bounced back in a big way in the bottom of the fourth.

Martian (21-6) retired the first two batters she faced, but Wilson and Alivia Haley hit back-to-back two-out home runs. It was the fourth of the season for Wilson, and the third for Alivia Haley, who also scored twice in the game.

“Our offense has always been our strong suit,” Wilson said. “It’s frustrating to hit three home runs and lose.”

Russell followed the homers with a line drive double to the gap in left-center field. That chased Martian, who was replaced by sophomore Sam Burkhart.

Rhiannon Haley greeted Burkhart with her 11th double of the season. Her 51st RBI of the year plated Russell. Cunningham followed with an RBI single to tie the game at 9-all.

“We didn’t quit. We made it a game but just couldn’t quite get it done,” Poulter said.

Martian returned to the circle in the fifth inning and closed out the game with three straight 1-2-3 frames. Alivia Haley just missed her second home run of the game to lead off the sixth but flew out to center field.

Russell also flew out to center before Rhiannon Haley popped out to first in foul territory.

The Tigerhawks went into the sixth inning down one run with three of its best hitters walking to the plate, and Martian came through for the Rebels.

“They did a nice job in the last two innings to slow our lineup down. We need to give them credit and give their pitcher credit,” Poulter said. “The top of our order were up and we didn’t score.

“They put together three good innings. They put the starter back in, and whether she made good adjustments or whatever, they were able to step up and get it done against us.”

Cunningham pitched well for the Tigerhawks but dropped to 8-8 on the season after the loss. She allowed three runs — two earned — on six hits with three strikeouts and one walk in five innings.

“Colbee did a good job coming into the game,” Poulter said. “As a sophomore in this setting, I have nothing but praise for what she did in the circle. She kept us in the game.”

The best the Tigerhawks can do now is fifth. They face a familiar foe in Tuesday’s consolation semifinals. Colfax-Mingo took on South Iowa Cedar League rival Montezuma (19-13) at 9 a.m.

The Bravettes were defeated 18-1 by top-ranked Kee in their Monday quarterfinal.

There won’t be any secrets,” Poulter said. “It’s going to be battle to get the girls back up and ready to play tomorrow. We want to go out there and beat Montezuma for a third time, but it will be difficult to get them excited to play right away. We’ll do the best we can to get them ready to go.”

Colfax-Mingo defeated Montezuma, 3-1, on the road back on May 31 and then drilled the Bravettes, 11-1, at home on June 26.

“I am not worried about it. They are a good team, but I think we’ll be OK,” Wilson said. “I think we’ll be fine coming back so soon. I think we’ll have a fire inside us and some anger because we lost today.”

Four SICL teams advanced to the state tournament but only Sigourney won a quarterfinal game Monday. The Savages upset No. 2 Akron-Westfield before No. 12 Belle Plaine lost 9-8 to No. 6 Clarksville.