Prairie Softball

Kuch tosses 3-hitter as Prairie upsets Waterloo East

WATERLOO — Hits were hard to come by at Waterloo East Saturday night. Cedar Rapids Prairie still found its way on base and, more importantly, across the plate.

Waterloo East committed five errors — three of them turned into four unearned runs in the top of the fifth inning — and it gave Prairie a 4-0 upset victory in the semifinals of the Class 5A regional softball tournament.

Prairie (9-28) earned a date against No. 9 Iowa City West (35-6) in the regional finals Tuesday night at Iowa City West, with the winner going to the state tournament.

Iowa City West swept Prairie during the regular season, 12-1 and 10-1, so the Hawks will need a huge upset Tuesday.

Waterloo East ended its season with a 25-12 record with its five errors and the loss to Prairie.

“The last week or so, we’ve been struggling. They aren’t hard plays to make, but we’re not doing it. And it cost us big time,” said East Coach Gene Laughlin. “That was the bottom line. We didn’t make plays and didn’t deserve to win.”

Trojan pitcher Alyson Netty surrendered just three hits, one being a double to Malia Gudenkauf to lead off the fifth. But after that two-bagger, five more Hawks reached base in the inning — none by way of a hit.

“She threw excellent,” Laughlin added. “But that one inning, when you’re playing with that kind of pressure — I don’t care who you are, it’s tough.”

Three pitches also went to the backstop to bring in runs and advance runners. Netty added seven strikeouts, but Prairie pitcher Katelyn Kuch ended up as the star of the night.

Kuch also allowed just three hits and didn’t let East sniff a comeback once she was given the lead.

“There were some times they put the ball in play pretty hard and we had to step up and make a play,” said Prairie Coach Kimi Hynek. “We put the ball in play and were able to capitalize on it a little bit. They put the ball in play and we played solid defense.”

Katelyn Kinnetz, Kesley Rash and Katie Henry came up with the hits for the Trojans, but for Rash, Netty and four other seniors it was an abrupt end.

Waterloo East lost six of its last seven games.

“These seniors are the favorite senior class I’ve had. They worked their butts off, always came to play and never took a day off at practice,” said Laughlin. “They deserved a better fate, but you have to make plays.”

PRAIRIE (4)
T.Stecklein, 2b, 4 1 0 0, H.Lueck, cf, 3 0 0 0, O'Brian, c, 4 0 0 0, Rumer, dp, 4 0 0 0, Stevenson, 3b, 2 0 1 0, Kuch, p, 2 0 0 0, Gudenkauf, 1b, 3 1 2 0, A.Stecklein, ss, 3 1 0 0, Jones, rf, 3 0 0 0, C.Lueck, lf/flex, 0 0 0 0. Totals 28 4 3 0.

WATERLOO EAST (0)
Kinnetz,ss, 3 0 1 0, Wroe, 1b, 3 0 0 0, Netty, p, 3 0 0 0, M.Nichols, lf, 3 0 0 0, Rash, dp, 2 0 1 0, Thompson, c, 2 0 0 0, Schmidt, 2b, 3 0 0 0, A.Nichols, cf, 2 0 0 0, Henry, 3b, 2 0 1 0, Frank, rf, 0 0 0 0. Totals 23 0 3 0.

Prairie             000 040 0 – 4 3 0
Waterloo East  000 000 0 – 0 3 5

Kuch and O'Brian; Netty and Thompson. W - Kuch. L - Netty. 2B – Gudenkauf.

Error-plagued Hawks swept by Saints

Both teams hit the ball well Tuesday night, but only one caught it and threw it well.

Xavier beat Prairie, 5-3 and 12-7, to sweep a Mississippi Conference softball doubleheader at Prairie.

Prairie (8-28, 6-20) out-hit Xavier (23-17, 15-11) in the opener, 11-6, but the Hawks also committed six errors.

“They outplayed us tonight,” explained Prairie Coach Kimi Hynek. “They played excellent defense and that was the difference maker in both games.”

Jenna Schulte and Morgan Breitbach each had two hits in game one for the Saints, while Brittney Lash and Aly O’Brian each garnered two hits for the Hawks.

“It felt good tonight because I haven’t been hitting as well as I would like,” said Breitbach, who came back and got two more hits in the nightcap.  “I just tried to hit it where it was pitched.”

Game two saw Xavier put up five first-inning runs on three hits and four Prairie errors.

Erin Drahozal and Hayley Deutmeyer joined Breitbach with two hits in game two for the Saints.  Lash, Malia Gudenkauf, and Olivia Usher each picked up two hits for Prairie.

“They were pitching me inside-outside and I went deep in the count each at-bat so I was able to expect a good pitch to hit,” explalined Lash.

Despite scattering 22 hits, Xavier saw Jacey Wiebold and Drahozal pick up complete game victories behind error free defense.

“We stayed fairly focused," said Xavier interim coach Nikki Price.  “We kept working hard on defense and attacking on offense.”

Prairie's next game is a Class 5A regional semifinal Saturday at Waterloo East. Xavier hosts a Class 4A semifinal Saturday against either Marion or Dubuque Wahlert.

GAME ONE

XAVIER (5)
Schwach 2b, 4 1 1 1, Galligan lf, 4 1 0 0, Feltes 3b, 3 0 0 0, Schulte 1b, 4 1 2 1, Drahozal dh, 4 0 1 1, Wiebold p, 0 0 0 0, Duetmeyer ss, 4 0 0 0, Breitbach rf, 4 1 2 0, Miller c, 1 0 0 0, Colston cf, 3 1 0 0. Totals 31 5 6 3.

PRAIRIE (3)
Lash cf, 3 1 2 1, T.Stecklein 2b, 4 0 1 0, O’Brian c, 4 0 2 1, Meyer cr, 0 0 0 0, Rumer dh, 4 1 1 0, A.Stecklein ss, 0 0 0 0, Kuch p, 4 0 1 1, Stevenson 3b, 3 0 1 0, Gudenkauf 1b, 3 1 1 0, C.Lueck lf, 3 0 1 0, Mumaw rf, 2 0 1 0. Totals 30 3 11 3.

Xavier         003 002 0 --  5  6  0
Prairie         001 110 0 --  3 11 6

Wiebold and Miller. Kuch and O’Brian W - Wiebold L - Kuch 2B - Drahozal, Rumer.

GAME TWO

XAVIER (12)
Schwach 2b, 5 1 1 0, Galligan dh, 5 1 1 0, Ireland lf, 0 0 0 0, Drahozal p, 5 2 2 1, Schulte 1b, 4 2 1 0, Duetmeyer ss, 3 2 2 0, Breitbach rf, 4 2 2 3, Miller c, 3 2 1 2, Colston cf, 3 0 1 1. Totals 36 12 12 7.

PRAIRIE (7)
Lash cf, 3 1 2 1, T.Stecklein 2b, 4 1 1 1, O’Brian c, 3 0 1 1, Rumer dh, 3 1 0 0, A.Stecklein ss, 0 0 0 0, Kuch p, 1 1 1 0, Stevenson p, 2 0 0 0, Usher 3b, 4 1 2 0, Gudenkauf 1b, 3 2 2 2, C.Lueck lf, 3 0 0 0, Mumaw rf, 1 0 1 1, H.Lueck rf, 3 0 1 0. Totals 30 7 11 6.

Xavier         503 310 0 --  12 12 0
Prairie         020 212 0 --   7 11  5

Drahozal and Miller.  Kuch, Stevenson (2), Kuch (4) and O’Brian. W - Drahozal. L - Kuch.  2B - Lash, Usher, Gudenkauf 2.  3B - Breitbach. SB - Drahozal, Duetmeyer, Gudenkauf, H.Lueck.

Ollinger shines as Lions sweep Hawks

Kortlan Ollinger had a big day at the plate Thursday as the Linn-Mar Lions swept a Mississippi Valley Conference doubleheader from Cedar Rapids Prairie, 7-4 and 5-2, at Linn-Mar.

Ollinger went 6-for-8 in the twinbill with a triple, home run and three RBIs for the Lions (18-17, 13-11).

Ollinger, Maggie Rizor and Georgia Kolf were 3-for-4 for Linn-Mar in the first game. Kelsey Duggan and Alexis Kelsey had two hits as the Lions unleashed a 15-hit attack.

Aly O'Brian and Natalie Rumer had two base hits for Prairie (8-26, 6-18) in the opener.

Ollinger went 3-for-4 again in the second game with her triple, home run and three RBIs.

GAME ONE

PRAIRIE (4)
Lash, cf, 4 1 1 1, T.Stecklein, 2b, 3 1 0 0, O'Brian, c, 4 1 2 0, Rumer, dp, 4 0 2 2, Gudenkauf, 1b, 4 0 1 1, Kuch, p, 3 0 0 0, Stevenson, 3b, 3 1 1 0, A.Stecklein, ss, 3 0 0 0, H.Lueck, rf, 3 0 0 0, C.Lueck, lf, 0 0 0 0. Totals 31 4 7 4.

LINN-MAR (7)
Ollinger, cf, 4 2 3 0, Duggan, 2b, 3 1 2 0, Kelsey, p/ss, 4 1 2 2, Rizor, 1b, 4 1 3 1, Ryan, ss/rf, 4 1 1 0, Hansen, dp/p, 3 0 0 1, Kolf, lf, 4 0 3 2, Swanson, 3b, 3 0 0 0, Clauson, ph, 1 0 0 0, Yearling, c, 2 1 1 0, Harms, rf, 0 0 0 0. Totals 32 7 15 6.

Kuch and O'Brian; Kelsey, Hansen (5) and Yearling. W - Hansen. L - Kuch.

GAME TWO

PRAIRIE (2)
Lash, cf, 2 0 0 0, T.Stecklein, 2b, 2 0 0 0, O'Brian, c, 3 0 0 0, Rumer, dp, 3 1 1 0, Gudenkauf, 1b, 3 0 0 0, Usher, 3b, 2 1 0 1, Digman 3 0 0 0, A.Stecklein, ss, 2 0 0 1, H.Lueck, rf, 2 0 0 0, C.Lueck, 0 0 0 0. Totals 22 2 1 2.

LINN-MAR (5)
Ollinger, cf, 4 1 3 3, Duggan, 2b, 3 0 0 0, Kelsey, ss, 2 0 0 0, Rizor, 1b, 3 1 0 0, Ryan, rf, 3 1 1 0, Hansen, p, 2 0 0 1, Kolf, lf, 3 0 0 0, Swanson, 3b, 3 1 1 1, Yearling, c, 3 1 1 0. Totals 26 5 6 5.

Digman, Stevenson (5) and O'Brian; Hansen and Yearling. W - Hansen. 2B - Swanson, Rumer. 3B - Ollinger. HR - Ollinger.

Marion bumps off Prairie, 3-2

Amber Fiser went 2-for-2 and got the victory in relief Wednesday night as the Marion Indians trimmed Cedar Rapids Prairie, 3-2, in a non-conference softball game at Marion.

Michalyn Mohr went 2-for-3 for the Indians (22-14), scored a run and drove in a run. Fiser and Paige Perkins also collected RBIs.

Prairie outhit Marion, 11-6, but couldn't get enough clutch hits in the ballgame. Taylor Stecklein, Katie Kuch and Halle Lueck had two hits apiece for the Hawks (8-24).

PRAIRIE (2)
Lash, cf, 3 0 1 0, T.Stecklein, 2b, 3 0 2 0, O’Brian, c, 4 0 0 0, Rumer, dp, 4 0 1 0, Gudenkauf, 1b, 3 0 1 0, Kuch, 3 1 2 0, Stevenson, 3b, 4 1 1 0, H.Lueck, rf, 3 0 2 1, C.Lueck, lf, 2 0 1 1, A.Stecklein, ss, 0 0 0 0. Totals 29 2 11 2.

MARION (3)
Scott, rf, 3 1 1 0, Vanourney, 2b/3b, 2 0 0 0, Knapp 1b, 3 1 1 0, Mohr, ss, 3 1 2 1, Fiser, 3b/p, 2 0 2 1, Brown, dh, 2 0 0 0, Perkins, c, 3 0 0 1, Goemaat, p, 1 0 0 0, Fuller, lf, 2 0 0 0, Nathem, cf, 0 0 0 0. Totals 21 3 6 3.

Prairie    000 200 0 - 2 11
Marion   100 101 x - 3 6

W- Fiser. L - Kuch. 2B - Knapp, Mohr, Gudenkauf, Kuch.