John Hirl, Announcer
The Albia Lady Dees had been upsetting teams left and right in their postseason run so far. From Solon to Boyden Hull/Rock Valley, the Lady Dees have been doing the impossible. Their miracle run continued Thursday night, as they defeated the Mount Vernon Mustangs to clinch their spot in the State Championship game Friday night against the 1-Seed Davenport Assumption.
The Dees started off well like they have all postseason. Hannah Isley got on base and later scored after a Mustang error in the outfield. The Mustangs battled back in their half of the 1st when Bailey Sullivan scored Libby Ryan to make it 1-1 after 1. Rylee Leshen left off the 2nd and immediately went yard and it was 2-1 Dees going into the bottom of the 2nd. After a scoreless Mustang 2nd, Hannah Isley dug in and hit a no doubter for Albia’s second home run of the game to make to 3-1 Dees. Just one batter later the Albia pitcher Jena Lawrence hit a homer of her own to push the Albia lead to 4-1 after 2 and a half. Mount Vernon would swing back in the bottom of the 3rd when Libby Ryan was once again hit in, this time by Sammy Moss to cut the Albia lead to 4-2. That would be the end of the scoring for a while as Jena Lawrence and Mount Vernon’s Amanda Roe would settle in in the circle. Both pitchers pitched well through the 4th, 5th, and 6th innings, neither one allowing a run with help from their defense. Albia added some insurance in the top of the 7th when Makenna Ross would score Isley for the 3rd time in the game to make it 5-2 going into the bottom of the 7th. The Mustangs would get the speedy Libby Ryan on, but would fail to score her as Albia would shut the door on the Mustangs in the bottom of the 7th. Another great game from Jena Lawrence in the circle and Hannah Isley at the plate mean the Lady Dees are on their way to the Class 3A State Championship to play Davenport Assumption.
The Knights from Davenport Assumption will be the toughest test for the Dees this year. Some believe the Knight may be the best team in the entire State Tournament, regardless of class. Davenport comes into this game with the best record in the entire state, 43-1. Their only loss coming in the first game vs a team from Moline, Illinois. They feature two great pitchers, Nicole Timmons and Hannah Kelley, who both sport sub .50 ERAs. The Knights can swing the bats too, with 8 of their 9 starters hitting .350 or above. The No Coast Network will have coverage of the Class 3A State Championship game on Friday, July 21st with pregame starting at 6:50 PM and gametime at 7:09 PM on 104.9 KBOE, kboeradio.com, and the KBOE Mobile App.
