March 28, 2024

Seventh-ranked Hawks to play for 1A Region 5 title

SULLY — A double by Laci Keen sparked a five-run third inning for Lynnville-Sully’s Class 1A seventh-ranked Hawks. They took a 5-3 lead and never relinquished it on their way to a 10-7 win over BGM’s Bears in Friday’s Class 1A Region 5 semifinal game.

In a hit fest of a game, the Hawks made the most of their 12 hits against the Bears. The two South Iowa Cedar League teams faced off for the third time this season.

The Bears had 14 hits in the game. They scored three runs in the top of the first and held the lead for 2 1/2 innings.

“That was a momentum changer for the game when Laci opened the inning with the double. Having a runner on with no one outs allowed us to start clicking,” Lynnville-Sully head coach Stacey Alberts said. “We made the third inning and fourth innings a bit longer for their pitcher and I think (Kelsey) Lint got a little tired.”

Alberts said the Hawks used the short game with bunts and base running to get things going. She said the good thing about the Lynnville-Sully players is they are capable of swinging away to put hits in the gaps in the outfield.

After the five runs in the third, the Hawks came right back to plate four runs in the fourth. The Bears weren’t going away as they clawed away for three runs in the top of the fifth to make it 9-6.

Lynnville-Sully pitcher Denali Conover helped herself with a lead-off double in the bottom of the fifth.

Kaleah Ehresman went in as a courtesy runner and scored on a two-out solid single to left field by Carson Fisk.

Kelsey Lint got the Bears’ final run on a solo home run over the center field fence to start the sixth. The Hawks worked out of a two-on, one-out jam in the inning to keep it 10-7.

In the seventh, catcher Korinne Jansen stretched back to her left to snare a foul ball for the second out of the inning. The Bears had a runner on when Kelsey Lint came up to bat but Conover got Lint to hit a ground ball to her and Conover threw the Bears’ pitcher out to end the game.

“It’s tough to beat a team three times in a season,” Jansen said. “We knew it was going to be a tough game against BGM. When Denali was struggling a bit, I just told her to her to get it together — I can do that she’s my best friend.”

Jansen said she told her pitcher to just go right back at the batter on the next pitch. Conover made the Bears put the ball in play.

Conover walked three and hit one batter. She had one strikeout.

Conover said she just prepared for a tough go and pushed through pitches. She said she figured out the zone and tried to get better each inning.

Offensively, Fisk had three singles while Shiloh Cunningham and Jansen each had two singles.

Conover and Keen each doubled. Mallory Loftus and Megan Van Zante each had a single.

The Hawks face another SICL opponent — No. 15 North Mahaska — in Monday’s regional final. The first pitch is 7 p.m. at Sully.

North Mahaska beat Sigourney, another SICL team, 6-1, in semifinal action on Friday.

“We knew it would be an all -conference final and we’re fortunate we’re in it,” Alberts said. “There’s not a lot of surprises between the two teams. It will come down to who can execute and gets timely hits.”

Lynnville-Sully is trying to get back to the Class 1A state softball tournament after a three-year lull.

Contact Jocelyn Sheets at
641-792-3121 ext. 6535
or jsheets@newtondailynews.com