WEST LIBERTY — The Lady Spartans’ hammered the West Liberty Comets 11-1 this past Saturday in a 3A Region 6 semifinal at West Liberty. The Comets entered the contest ranked No. 11 in 3A in the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union (IGHSAU)’s final rankings of the season and with a 20-10 record whereas Solon was unranked at 16-24 overall. Solon plated three runs in the top of the first inning and held the 3-0 lead until a Comet scored in the bottom of the third. Three more Solon runs went up in the fifth followed by four in the sixth and one in the seventh.
16 hits were tallied by Solon with three apiece from Izzy Frees (single, two doubles), Addie Miller (one double, four RBIs), and Emerson Miller (one double, two RBIs). Kendall Jensen had two hits including a double while Keegan Kleppe, Laeni Hinkle, Dillon Ostrander, Bailey Woolley, and Avery Babbitt had one hit each. Jensen pitched the full game giving up five hits and one unearned run with six strikeouts.
The win advanced the Lady Spartans to the Regional Championship Tuesday, July 16 after this edition had gone to print. Solon (17-24) faced Center Point-Urbana (16-18) in a battle of unranked teams after the Stormin’ Pointers knocked off No. 4-ranked Mount Vernon (30-11) 3-0 in the semis.
Postseason opens with 8-2 win over Vinton-Shellsburg
SOLON — Addie Miller dug into the batters’ box for the Lady Spartans in a 3-1 count. The following
pitch was a beauty. Right where Miller wanted it. And she attacked. Miller took a violent
swing at the ball and made contact. The ball flew off the bat and over the fence behind
home plate for a foul ball. Simultaneously, Miller’s helmet almost fell off her head as she
completed her follow through. Miller – already with one home run in the game –
desperately wanted another.
Two pitches later, Miller barreled up a full count pitch and drove it high and far. The
high, arching ball just got over the fence for a three-run home run, giving the Lady
Spartans a 7-2 advantage over Vinton-Shellsburg in the quarterfinals of the regional
tournament.
“She had patience and saw a lot of pitches. She just sat on one location and crushed it
when she got it,” said Solon Head Coach Brad Holub.
The Lady Spartans beat Vinton-Shellsburg 8-2 in the first round of the 3A Region 6
regional tournament. The blowout was anchored by Miller who had two home runs with
five RBIs. Kendall Jensen pitched a complete game and limited a Viking’s offense that
threatened to score nearly every inning.
Jensen allowed runners to get on board in five innings but held the Vikings to only two
runs. She relied on soft contact to get outs and was backed by another strong showing
from the Solon defense. Because of an ankle injury, it was Jensen’s first time pitching in
10 days. Holub said, “She was a little rusty, but she went out and battled. Our defense
played well behind her, and we got her some run support. It was a good night.”
The Lady Spartan offensive attack was quiet to start the game. Through the first three
innings – the first time through the lineup – the Spartans were limited to two hits and
only one baserunner. The heart of the lineup got things moving in the bottom of the
fourth inning. Laeni Hinkle led off with a double and scored off a triple by Izzy Frees the
following at-bat. After the first run of the game was scored, Miller sent a pitch for a ride
out of the park for a two-run home run to give the Lady Spartans a three-run lead.
“Second time through the lineup we got comfortable. We got our first game jitters out of
the way and went out and played how we are capable,” said Holub.
The Solon offense ended with 11 hits – nine of which came in the final three innings.
Once they got control of the game, the Lady Spartans kept the pressure on the Vikings.
The three-run home run in the fifth inning by Miller crushed the Vikings hopes of a
comeback.
“We have a relatively young team; they were really jacked up. The first throwdown of
the game went all the way to the outfield. Then they just started to play ball. We just had
a patient approach and executed our plan.”
Keegan Kleppe, Frees, Addie Miller, and Avery Babbitt produced two hits each with one apiece from Hinkle, Emerson Miller, Bailey Woolley, and Zoey Grimm.
CR Jefferson 6 Solon 1 in regular season finale
The Lady Spartans ended the regular season on the road at Cedar Rapids Jefferson last Monday (July 8) in a non-conference game against the Mississippi Valley Conference J-Hawks. Freshman Keegan Kleppe came home on an RBI single by junior Izzy Frees for Solon’s only run. Frees and freshman Addison Walter had one hit each. Junior Zoey Grimm took the loss after four innings in the circle giving up seven hits and six runs (three earned) and walking two. Freshman Emerson Miller pitched two innings giving up two hits, no runs, and striking out one.
2024 State Softball Tournament information
The Tournament will run Monday, July 22 – Friday, July 26 at Harlan and Hazel Rogers Sports Complex in Fort Dodge with Class 3A First Round games scheduled for 7:00 and 7:30 p.m. Monday and 10:00 and 10:30 a.m. Tuesday. Semifinals are set for 2:30 and 3:00 p.m. Wednesday with the 3A Championship Friday at 2:30 p.m. 3A consolation bracket games are set for 2:30 p.m. Tuesday and 10:00 a.m. Wednesday with the Third Place game scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Friday.
Check https://ighsau.org/news/2024-softball-tournament-central/ for ticket, IGHSAU Digital Network Live Streams, and Iowa PBS livestream of Championship games information.
WaMaC East Standings (7-14-24)
Conf. Overall
Mount Vernon 17-7 30-12
Marion 14-8 19-15
Solon 12-10 17-24
CPU 9-13 16-18
W. Delaware 9-13 16-21
Independence 8-14 22-18
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