Two plays after Cedar Point-Urbana (CPU) tied up the game with two outs in the top of the seventh inning, the Lady Spartans were in a premiere position to win the game. Keegan Kleppe led off the bottom of the seventh by hitting a rope into the gap in left field. Kleppe stretched the hit into a triple and suddenly Solon was 60 feet away from advancing to the state tournament.
Laeni Hinkle was due up to bat next. Lady Spartan Head Coach Brad Holub called a timeout and met with Hinkle halfway down the third-base line. Holub asked the freshman what she was comfortable doing. Hinkle said, “Not bunting.”
Holub responded, telling her to hit it to the right side of the field then. Naturally, Hinkle got a pitch she liked and sent it up the middle but bouncing off the pitcher’s shin and to the right side. The single brought home Kleppe and the celebration began before she even crossed home plate.
The Lady Spartans pulled out the 4-3 walk off win over Cedar Point-Urbana to advance to the state tournament last Tuesday in a Class 3A Regional Final. This is the first time the Lady Spartans have made the state tournament in the past seven years. Holub said, “We overcame a lot of obstacles this year, it was not pretty at times. But we peaked at the right time and good things happened.”
The game was a struggle for Solon during the first four innings. Solon managed one hit and pitcher Kendall Jensen could only do so much to keep the tough Cedar Point offense at bay. Heading into the bottom of the fifth inning, Solon was down 2-0. Kleppe got the rally started as she slapped a single with one out. Hinkle then swapped places with Kleppe on a fielder’s choice. Izzy Frees came up with the hit that woke the Lady Spartan offense up. Frees hit a double to the fence and scored Hinkle for Solon’s first run of the game.
Addie Miller followed with a single and aggressive baserunning put runners on second and third for the Lady Spartans. Then Kendall Jensen finished the job by scoring both runners on a two-RBI single. With that, they led 3-2. Holub said, “They believed in one another and just worked. They took patient at-bats and played defense then we were there at the end.”
Kendall Jensen got two quick outs in the top of the seventh and had the third Cedar Point batter on the ropes with two strikes. Jensen was just one strike away. There was an energy in the crowd that sensed something special was about to happen – they were right, but it would not happen for a couple more minutes. Jensen’s ensuing pitch got hit for a single and the next batter hit a line drive into the outfield gap and brought home the tying run.
Holub called timeout and met the team in the circle. Holub recounts, “I said, hey ladies, Solon hasn’t been to state in seven years. Nobody said it was going to be easy. Let’s get this out and go back and score our run.”
The players did just that, about as efficiently as they could.
After the walk off winner, the players grabbed the State Qualifier banner, celebrated for a moment, and then ran to the outfield ready for their end of game meeting. Holub yelled over to them, laughing, and told them to keep celebrating and they can do the meeting later.
The young team faced a lot of adversity this season. Through that, they proved they can not only play with the best, but they are among the best in the state.
The win advanced Solon to the 2024 State Softball Tournament in Fort Dodge with the Lady Spartans the eighth-seed in Class 3A. Solon (18-24) faced No. 1-seed Benton Community (31-7) in the quarterfinals Tuesday morning (after this edition had gone to print) at Harlan Rogers Park in Fort Dodge.
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.