Autumn McDanel had another stellar performance offensively and defensively striking out 13 and Moravia pulled off another late come-from-behind victory, defeating Cardinal 2-1 to advance to Friday’s Class 1A Region 5 Semifinal.  Cardinal struck first in the top of the first inning scoring on a double by Cassidy McMartin and an RBI single from Shelby Smith.

The Comets defense retired the first six batters faced before Moravia started the third with back-to-back singles but were unable to produce a run.  Cardinal maintained their 1-0 lead into the bottom of the sixth when McDanel blasted a solo home run over the left center field fence to tie the game, her second homer of the season.

After retiring Cardinal in order to start the seventh inning, Moravia came to the plate looking to end the game and did just that as Emma Cochran led off beating out an infield bunt, then Jessica Self ripped a walk off RBI double scoring Cochran to win the game.

Maddie Cloke led Cardinal at the plate going 2 for 3 with a double and a single as the Comets finish their season 15-17 overall.  McDanel led Moravia’s offense going 2 for 3 with a single and homerun.  Peyton Rogers and Emily Moore also each had a hit.

Erika Ash took the loss for Cardinal striking out two while walking none and allowing six hits while McDanel got the win striking out 13, which gives her 31 K’s in the past two games, walking two and allowing just four hits.  Moravia improved to 19-9, has won six of their last seven games and advances to Friday’s Regional Semifinal in New London where they will face New London who beat Danville 10-0 last night.

You can hear that broadcast live on radiokmzn.com starting just before 7 PM Friday night.

Story provided by Jamie Brockman

The baseball brackets for Class 3A and 4A are out, and a trio of area teams get at least two home games on their road to state.

In Class 3A District 9, Washington will have to go on the road to face Solon, who is the top seed and the host site for all of District 9. The other district semifinal is Mount Vernon vs. Clear Creek-Amana, which kicks off the doubleheader at 5 PM on July 15^th.

In that sister district, District 10, Fairfield will be hosting their way through district play if they continue to win. The Trojans face Fort Madison in the semifinals, with the other semi being Mount Pleasant vs. Keokuk in an All-Southeast Conference district bracket. Mount Pleasant and Keokuk will play at 5 PM to start the double-dip on the 15^th. District finals will be played on July 18^th at 7 PM.

The winners of those two districts will meet in Washington on July 20^th at 7 PM with a trip to state on the line.

In Class 3A District 11, Oskaloosa is the top team, and they will host Grinnell in the finale of a doubleheader in Osky on July 15^th. The first semifinal will be Williamsburg vs. South Tama County. Oskaloosa will host the district final on July 18^th at 7 PM regardless of who will be playing.

That sister district features #5 Pella, who faces Newton in their first district game in the back end of that doubleheader. Knoxville and Chariton square off in the first game at 5 PM on July 15^th. The district final is at 7 PM on July 18^th.

This potentially sets up a rematch in the Substate 6 Final on the very same field that Pella and Osky battled for state last year. Pella was the victor in that contest, and will have the home-field advantage if they make it to the substate final. Winner of that game, as they did last year, will qualify for the state baseball tournament at Principal Park in Des Moines. That game is on July 20^th at 7 PM. Pella is 2-1 against Oskaloosa this season, but have not thrown ace Grant Judkins in any of the three games.

Ottumwa is the lone Class 4A team in the area, and they have to go on the road to face Indianola in the first round of Substate 6. That game is on July 15^th at 7 PM. After the three substate games, the highest seeded team will receive a bye, and the other two will battle on a field to be determined to get to the substate final.

We will have continuing coverage of all of the area’s score on radiokmzn.com, and will be broadcasting the Oskaloosa baseball games on 99.5 FM/740 AM KMZN, the KMZN mobile app, and radiokmzn.com.

Wednesday night was a big night for postseason softball with several area teams advancing to their region’s semifinals.

Perhaps the biggest upset involving an area team was in Class 1A Region 4 as Montezuma defeated #3 Alburnett, 6-5, in a 10-inning thriller. That game turned the entire bracket on its head, as Monte faces North Tama, who also pulled a road upset, beating Don Bosco, 5-2. That game will be in Alburnett on Friday at 7 PM.

In the bottom half of that bracket, Lisbon was the top seed, and they were upset as well, falling at home to Marquette Catholic, 5-2. Belle Plaine was the only home team in the entire region to win in the quarterfinals, and they’ll face Marquette Catholic in Lisbon on Friday at 7 PM.

None of those teams are ranked, setting up an unlikely Cinderella team to qualify for the state tournament in Fort Dodge.

In Class 1A Region 5, the opposite was true, as all four home teams got wins to advance to the regional semifinals. #5 New London got a 10-0 win over Danville and they’ll face area team Moravia, who beat Cardinal 2-1 in walk-off fashion. That game is in New London on Friday at 7 PM. You can hear the broadcast on our website on radiokmzn.com.

In the bottom half of that bracket, Sigourney got themselves a 15-5 win over Tri-County, and now they’ll face #6 Calamus-Wheatland. That game is in Calamus on Friday at 7 PM.

Class 1A Region 6 action saw Lynnville-Sully’s season come to a close in an 8-4 loss to Colfax-Mingo. The Hawks end their campaign 16-17.

In Class 2A Region 3, Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont held off a stiff challenge from North Mahaska at home, 5-2. EBF is ranked #8 in the state, and didn’t play their cleanest game, but found a way to get the win. They will host Des Moines Christian on Friday at 7 PM. DMC got a 7-1 victory over Pleasantville on the road Wednesday night. Pleasantville ends their season at 15-12. #6 Van Meter and Ogden are in the other semifinal in the region.

You can hear the EBF vs. DMC game on 99.5 FM/740 AM KMZN, the KMZN app, and radiokmzn.com, starting at 6:45 Friday night.

Pella Christian stayed alive in Class 2A Region 5. The 10^th ranked Eagles beat Madrid at home, 11-4. They’ll play South Hamilton at home on Friday at 7 PM. South Hamilton pulled a 5-4 upset on Woodward-Granger on the road Wednesday night. #7 Iowa City Regina and Maquoketa Valley are playing in the other Region 5 Semifinal.

In Class 2A Region 6, Pekin’s season came to an end, as they lost 4-2 to Highland on the road. The Panthers’ season ends with a record of 11-14.

In Class 3A Region 4, a quartet of area teams faced off in the quarterfinal round. Davis County pulled an upset over Centerville on the road, 6-5, to move to 6-2 in their last 8 games. Even with that recent hot stretch, the Mustangs are just 13-17 on the season. They’ll have a chance to win another game, however, as they’ll face conference foe Albia. The Lady Dees got past Mid-Prairie at home, 5-4. Despite knowing each other well, Albia manhandled DC in both meetings this year between the teams, outscoring the Mustangs 23-0. Davis County has beaten three opponents with better records than them in their last three games, so expect a closer contest Friday in Centerville. First pitch is at 7 PM.

In the other half of that bracket, #2 Davenport Assumption will host West Burlington/Notre Dame, as both of those teams got comfortable home wins in the quarterfinals.

Finally in Class 3A Region 7, PCM’s season ended at the hands of CMB, 14-4. CMB will now play Saydel and should be the favorites to make it to state, as the top seed in the region, Clarke of Osceola, fell to Bondurant-Farrar in a home upset, 2-1. PCM’s final record is 11-18.

Stay locked in to radiokmzn.com for more information about all the happenings in postseason softball as all small schools are two wins away from qualifying for the state tournament in Fort Dodge.

The Oskaloosa Indian softball team has had a fantastic season and will be looking to qualify for the state softball tournament for the second time ever in Class 4A Region 5.

This bracket is intriguing from a lot of standpoints. In the first round, Clear Creek-Amana (18-21), who has a winning pedigree and has found ways to get back to Fort Dodge and the state tournament time and time again, will host Marion (12-21) in Oxford on Thursday, July 7^th.

This matchup is a rematch from a doubleheader earlier in the season, where CCA got wins by scores of 2-1 and 4-1 in Oxford. That was over a month ago and a lot has changed. For the Clippers of CCA, they have had a roller coaster season, and are in a low valley at the moment. After starting the season 6-6 following the sweep of Marion, the Clippers lost 8 of their next 10 games. That was immediately followed by a 10-game winning streak, where they allowed more than two runs only once in that span. Since that streak ended on June 25^th, CCA has lost 7 of their last 8 to finish the regular season.

Marion has never really got going this year, but played CCA close enough in their meetings earlier this season to feel like they have a good shot at pulling the upset on the road.

The winner of that game faces #4 Oskaloosa (25-7) in Osky. The Indians have been plagued with injuries as the season has worn on, with pitchers Alexis Groet and Kylee Silliman both missing time due to physical issues. Head Coach Jay Harms has worked Josie Bunnell and Anna Jones into the rotation, but their inexperience would be a challenge in a postseason setting.

Oskaloosa’s schedule was not easy as the season wound to a close, and that in addition to the injuries saw the Indians finish the regular slate with four straight losses after just three the first 28 games of the year.

If Osky were to even get one of their pitchers back for Saturday’s semifinal against either Marion or CCA, they would have to feel confident in their prospects.

That would send Osky to the Region 5 Final in Class 4A.

The first round matchup on that side is Maquoketa (13-23) hosting Washington (11-23). Neither of those teams seems to have championship pedigree, so #9 Mount Pleasant (27-9) should get a fairly easy matchup on their home field on Saturday in their semifinal.

That seems to set up a collision course for Oskaloosa and Mount Pleasant to square off in the regional final on Tuesday, July 12^th. That game would be on the home field of the higher seed, and with the final rankings not released yet, there’s no guarantee that the game would be played in Oskaloosa. As mentioned, Osky lost their last four, while Mt. Pleasant won 6 of their last 7, so there is a chance the Panthers could hop the Indians in the final rankings.

Regardless of where the game is played, this would be a case of how Osky does against junior Bailey Johnson. Johnson is 16-2 in the pitching circle with a team best 2.45 ERA, and opponents hitting just .194 against her. She has struck out 97 in 120 innings with 53 walks. The Panther #2 pitcher is junior Cali Liechty, who is 9-6 on the season, but with a similar ERA at 2.68, and a similar opponents’ batting average against at .199. The strikeouts are where Liechty has excelled, with 100 in 83.2 innings with just 46 walks. That gives Head Coach Troy Mears a second option in the circle if he needs to get strikeouts or if Johnson struggles.

Johnson is also one of the premier hitters in the stated, as she finished the year hitting right at .500, with a .614 on-base percentage. Her power numbers are unbelievable, with 15 home runs and 64 RBI. Those are both among the state leaders.

Oskaloosa’s pitcher, whoever that may be, will need to be careful with the rest of this lineup, because when they reach base, they wreak havoc, stealing 98 bases on 109 attempts in the regular year.

Osky will have to work for the victory, but if they are even close to full strength, they will be a very tough out in the tournament. While Mount Pleasant may be a challenging foe on paper, Osky’s record against perhaps the best conference in the state in the Little Hawkeye could give them that competitive advantage that they need.

You can hear all of the Oskaloosa softball broadcasts on 99.5 FM/740 AM KMZN, the KMZN mobile app, and radiokmzn.com. The semifinal game is Saturday, July 9^th, at 7 PM, with the pregame starting at 6:45.