Dubuque Wahlert put up two runs in the first inning, added an insurance run in the top of the seventh and held on to upset Marion, 3-2, in a Class 4A regional first round game Thursday night at Marion.

Wahlert (16-24) advances to play Xavier in the regional semifinals Saturday at 7 p.m. at Xavier.

Run-producing singles by Anna Schmidt and Maddy Nillis gave Wahlert a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Marion's Michalyn Mohr got one of those back with an RBI double in the bottom of the inning and that was where the score stayed until the seventh inning.

Mohr and Malea Brown each collected two hits to lead the eight-hit Indian attack.

“I got an outside pitch and just went with it on that double,” said Mohr. “The bunt single I got in the sixth was just the second time I had been asked to bunt all season and it ended up being a hit.”

Eighth grade pitcher Amber Fiser came in to pitch for Marion in the third inning in relief of Michayla Goemaat and struck out 10 batters in five innings of work.

“My pitchers were working pretty good,” said Fiser. “My rise ball was really on all night long.”

The visiting Golden Eagles put up an unearned run in the top of the seventh.

Marion mounted an exciting comeback in the bottom of the seventh that plated one run. But the Indians left the bases loaded to end the game.

“It was disappointing but it has been a great season,” said Marion Coach Kim Knapp.  “We made some youthful mistakes and didn’t execute as well as we could have in some critical moments during the game, but we played hard and we were competitive.  We will be back next year with a lot of the same girls you saw playing here tonight.”

Marion finished the year with a 24-16 mark.

DUBUQUE WAHLERT (3)
McAllister cf, 4 1 1 0, Schmidt 2b, 3 1 2 1, Nillis  ss, 4 0 1 1, Tath p, 4 0 1 0, Ball c, 2 0 0 0, Link lf, 2 0 0 0, Koppes 1b, 3 0 0 0, Naumann, 3b, 3 0 0 0, Callahan rf, 2 1 0 0.  Totals 32 3 5 2.

MARION (2)
Scott rf, 3 0 1 0, Vanourney 3b, 3 1 1 0, Knapp 1b, 3 0 1 0, Mohr ss, 4 1 2 1, Prekins c, 3 0 0 0, Goemet p, 1 0 0 0, Fiser p, 2 0 0 0, Brown dp, 3 0 2 0, Nathem, cf, 0 0 0 0, Dullea pr, 0 1 0 0, Whitney 2b, 1 0 0 0, Rausch 2b. 2 0 0 0, Fuller lf, 3 0 1 0.  Totals 28 2 8 1.

Dubuque Wahlert    200 000 1 -- 3 5 1
Marion                   100 000 1 --  2 8 4

Tath and Ball. Goemaat, Fiser (3) and Perkins. W - Tath. L - Goemaat. 2B - Mohr, Brown. SB - McAllister 2, Scott.