Oskaloosa Defeats Burlington with Late Rally, Back to State in Softball

Posted on July 12, 2017 by Rick Watts

The Oskaloosa Indians were trying to make history on the softball diamond on Tuesday night, and riding another unbelievable performance from their ace, they did just that.

#7 Burlington was in town to face the #5 Indians in the Class 4A Region 5 Final with a trip to state on the line. When the dust settled, Osky would grab the win, 5-1.

Oskaloosa hit the ball well all night long against Grayhound pitcher Alivia Fawcett, getting hits in every inning but the fourth. They would plate the game’s first run in the second after singles by Aubrey Miller and Taylor Wills, which would be followed by a Maddie Haines sacrifice bunt and a Meghan Moorman RBI single.

On the other side in the early going, Osky pitcher Alexis Groet struck out the first eight she saw before allowing a couple hits in the fourth. She’d pitch around that jam to keep the score 1-0. After both teams were quiet in the fifth, Burlington brought the top of their order back up in the 6^th. Slap hitting senior Mia Ruther would get her second hit of the game to lead off the inning, then she would promptly steal second. After back-to-back strikeouts, clean-up hitter Heather Geiger hit a soft grounder down the first base line. She would leg that out for an infield hit, and the throw to first from Groet would go down the right field line, allowing the tying run to score.

Into the bottom of the 6^th, Oskaloosa wanted to get more runs before they fell behind. Ava VandeWall led off the inning with a double, representing the go-ahead run. Aubrey Miller would walk to follow that, and Taylor Wills would move the runners to 2^nd and 3^rd on a groundout to first base.

Maddie Haines would come through with a single down the left field line to give Osky the lead. Another bloop hit was hit to right field by Meghan Moorman, which set the table for senior Devan Welch, who got her second hit of the game for an RBI to increase the Osky lead. Josie Bunnell would also hit an RBI single to make it 5-1.

In the 7^th, Groet would quickly retire all three batters she faced to give the Indians the win and move them to state for the third time in four years. This is also the first time in school history that Oskaloosa qualified for state in back-to-back campaigns. They won the Class 4A State Championship in 2016.

Osky advances to state where they will play on Tuesday next week at 3 PM against Mount Pleasant. The Indians are the #4 seed in the bracket with Mount Pleasant the #5 seed. You can catch all of the state tournament games for Osky on 99.5 FM/740 AM KMZN, radiokmzn.com, and the KMZN mobile app.

Montezuma, Sigourney, EBF, Albia All Qualify for State Softball Tournament

Posted on July 11, 2017 by Rick Watts

The softball regional finals did not disappoint in our listening area on Monday night as four games produced four area teams qualifying for state.

In a game heard on 99.5 FM/740 AM KMZN, radiokmzn.com, and the KMZN mobile app, the Montezuma Bravettes took on Fort Dodge St. Edmond in a most improbable matchup. After three quick, scoreless innings, Monte would plate three runs in both the fourth and fifth innings and another run in the sixth. A solo home run would be all the Gaels could match in that span. Eventually, Monte would get the final out and win by a score of 7-1. Bravette pitcher Hanna Jones would only surrender one run on three hits in the game.

Montezuma will be the #8 seed in Class 1A and will face #1 seed Kee in the quarterfinals on Monday at 11 AM.

On 104.9 FM KBOE, kboeradio.com, and the KBOE mobile app, the Sigourney Savages looked to upset #3 Martensdale-St. Marys on the road. The Savages would score two runs early, but Martensdale-St. Marys would battle back and tie the game. Sigourney would hang tough and walk-it-off in the bottom of the 7^th to advance to state with the upset.

Sigourney will be the #7 seed and will face #2 seed and perennial powerhouse Akron-Westfield Monday at 3 PM.

Joining Montezuma and Sigourney at state are Colfax-Mingo and Belle Plaine, who found ways to win their respective regions as well. That means that four of the eight teams in the Class 1A state tournament bracket are out of the South Iowa Cedar League, a conference that had zero teams ranked in the top ten heading into the postseason.

In Class 2A Region 6, Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont travelled to Pella Christian High School to face the #4 team in the state and picked up a 4-1 win to get back to state for the first time since 2014. They’ll be the #6 seed in Class 2A and face #3 seed Waterloo Columbus Catholic on Monday at 5:30 PM.

In Class 3A Region 7, Albia went on the road to face Solon and got a big upset win, 11-3. The Lady Dees have shown the ability to play with anyone and they’ll get a chance as the #7 seed in the Class 3A bracket. They’ll play #2 seed Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley in the quarters on Tuesday at 11 AM.

Tonight, the Class 4A and 5A Regional Finals will be decided. Among them is the Class 4A Region 5 Final between the Oskaloosa Indians and the Burlington Greyhounds tonight at 7 PM. You can hear that contest live on 99.5 FM/740 AM KMZN, radiokmzn.com, and the KMZN mobile app starting at 6:45 PM.

Also, the Ottumwa Bulldogs will be on the road to face top-ranked Waukee in the Class 5A Region 1 Final. That game is at 7 PM as well.

You can check out a full schedule for the State Softball Tournament for all of our listening area when we announce it by the end of this week for both KBOE and KMZN. Keep updated by checking out the websites, kboeradio.com and radiokmzn.com.

Softball Regional Finals To Be Decided Monday and Tuesday Nights

Posted on July 10, 2017 by Rick Watts

Over the next two days, 40 schools will punch their ticket to the Iowa High School Softball State Tournament at Harlan Rogers Park in Fort Dodge. In the No Coast Network listening area, there are seven who are looking to do just that.

On Monday night, Class 1A, 2A, and 3A will all be looking to raise a banner.

Class 1A Region 3 is one of the most incredible matchups in the state, as Montezuma (18-12) will host Fort Dodge St. Edmond (12-17). Monte finished the season strong but still had to win a play-in game against Tri-County, which they barely survived in walkoff fashion last Monday, 4-3. Then, the Bravettes came from behind to walkoff again on Wednesday, this time against North Mahaska, 2-1 in 10 innings. They made things a little easier on themselves last Friday, exploding late to defeat Lynnville-Sully on the road, 10-4.

Now, they’ll play one of the unlikeliest of regional finalists in Fort Dodge St. Edmond. The Gaels started their run last Monday by beating Coon Rapids-Bayard, 3-2, in a game at Harlan Rogers Park. The big upset occurred last Wednesday, as they defeated #5 Newell-Fonda, 8-6, in Fonda. They kept up the momentum on Friday, waltzing past Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton, 9-2.

These two will do battle on 99.5 FM/740 AM KMZN, radiokmzn.com, and the KMZN mobile app, beginning at 6:45 PM for the 7 PM first pitch in Montezuma.

In Class 1A Region 7, Sigourney (21-11) has to go on the road to face #3 Martensdale-St. Marys to get to state. The Savages have held serve throughout in the bottom half of the bracket, getting a 7-1 win over Winfield-Mount Union on Wednesday and a 6-5 win over New London on Friday, both at home.

Martensdale-St. Marys (32-3) dominated in their first game against Southeast Warren, 12-0, but faced a stiff test against Wayne before surviving, 4-3.

That game can be heard on 104.9 FM KBOE, kboeradio.com, and the KBOE mobile app at 6:45 PM for the 7 PM first pitch in Martensdale.

In Class 2A Region 6, two area teams will duke it out for one trip to state. #4 Pella Christian (32-5) will host #9 Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont (29-8) in Pella. These two teams haven’t seen each other yet this year, but have a great rivalry in other sports.

EBF has been ranked as high as #2 this season and seemed destined to comfortably sit at the top of their region, but after some confusion with the IGHSAU, regions needed shuffled and a white-hot Pella Christian was added to the Rockets’ bracket. After both teams strolled through the first two rounds, they now find themselves needing one win to make it to Fort Dodge. First pitch in Pella is at 7 PM.

Region 7 in Class 3A features #9 Albia (27-8) travelling to face #6 Solon (30-12). Albia has a ton of youth and has shown great growth all season long. Solon has been there and done that, qualifying for state on a near-yearly basis. These two will lock horns in Solon at 7 PM.

On Tuesday night, just two area teams will be looking to advance to state.

Class 4A Region 5 sees the defending state champion and fifth-ranked Oskaloosa Indians (28-12) hosting #7 Burlington (22-17). Osky breezed past Washington in the semifinals to get to this point, hosting another regional final. They’ll face Burlington, a perennially ranked team in Class 5A who dropped down to 4A this year. The Greyhounds had to sweat it out in the semis, needing extras to down North Scott at home on Saturday, 3-1.

That game can be heard live from the Oskaloosa Softball Field at 6:45 PM on 99.5 FM/740 AM KMZN, radiokmzn.com, and the KMZN mobile app. First pitch Tuesday night is at 7 PM.

Finally, the Ottumwa Bulldogs (26-14) will look to keep up a strong tradition under Head Coach Frank Huston and get back to state. The #11 Bulldogs will face top-ranked Waukee (37-3-1) on the road Tuesday night. Both teams won by double-digits in their first postseason game and it will be sure to be a heavyweight fight in Waukee on Tuesday night, with the first pitch at 7 PM.

Be sure to stay locked in on KBOE and KMZN on the air and on the web for all the latest scores and updates throughout the postseason.

Newton, Washington Advance in Class 4A Softball Regionals

Posted on July 7, 2017 by Rick Watts

In regional softball action last night, several area teams attempted to punch their ticket to the semifinals in Class 4A.

In Class 4A Region 3, Pella was defeated by Norwalk, 6-2. Pella’s season ends with a record of 8-28. Norwalk will face Carlisle on the road Saturday night at 7 PM in the regional semis.

In Class 4A Region 5, Washington defeated Central DeWitt, 7-2. That locks in a third matchup between the Demons and #5 Oskaloosa. Those two teams split early in the season in Osky. This matchup will also occur at the Oskaloosa High School Softball Field. The first pitch is scheduled for 7 PM Saturday night and you can hear the live coverage on 99.5 FM/740 AM KMZN, radiokmzn.com, and the KMZN mobile app starting at 6:45 PM.

In Region 7 in Class 4A, Grinnell was dispatched by Cedar Rapids Xavier, 12-0. Grinnell’s season comes to a close with an 8-26 record.

Region 8 saw two area schools pitted against each other in Newton and Knoxville. Newton rode the home field advantage to a huge 11-1 victory to move into the regional semifinals against #2 Winterset on the road on Saturday night at 7 PM. Knoxville’s season ended with a record of 12-16.

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