IV softball tops HLV in first round of Class 1A regional

Lydia Kriegel hit a momentum changing grand slam home run and Iowa Valley withstood a last inning rally by HLV to squeak out a 9-8 win in the first round of the Class 1A Region 5 softball tournament Friday, June 30, at Victor.

Avenging an 8-5 loss to the Warriors on the same field a little over three weeks ago, the Tigers improved their record to 11-13 and advanced to Wednesday’s (July 5) quarterfinals at Brooklyn against BGM (14-10). HLV finished the season 10-10.

The Warriors jumped on the visitors early, taking a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Ema Roberts hit a leadoff triple and scored on Hailey Jack’s ground ball to second that was booted. Mckenzie Kempf reached base on another IV error and she and Jack both scored on Addy Shaull’s misplayed grounder to third.

HLV pushed across another run in the second inning. Roberts doubled with one out and scored on a base hit by Jack to make it 4-0, but not for long.

With a crack of Kriegel’s bat and three other hits, the Tigers got all of those runs back, plus one, in the third inning.

Kennedy Rathjen and Sarah Hoyt opened the inning with back-to-back singles but Kennedy Theissen, pinch running for Rathjen, was thrown out at third trying to take an extra base on Hoyt’s hit. Sahara Kanke walked and Ella Read got aboard on an error, loading the bases.

Kriegel, a sophomore, stepped to the plate and launched the first pitch she saw over the right field fence to tie the game, 4-4. IV wasn’t done.

Maddie Ray ripped a two-out triple and scored on the third HLV error of the inning, giving the Tigers the lead, 5-4. Hannah Leonard followed with an RBI single to make it 6-4.

After a shaky start, starting IV pitcher Dakota Pedersen settled in and retired the Warriors in order in the third and fourth innings, keeping the Tigers on top.

Both teams put up runs in the fifth inning to make it 7-5. Kriegel walked for IV and came around to score on another HLV error, while Roberts beat out a bunt hit for HLV, stole second, advanced to third on a sac fly and came home on a passed ball.

A wild seventh inning would settle things.

Rathjen had a great at bat to deliver what proved to be the game-winning hit for the Tigers. After three straight walks with one out loaded the bases, Rathjen worked a 3-2 count against HLV relief pitcher Nicole Gensley and fouled off three pitches in a row before looping a single over a drawn-in infield to right field to score two runs, giving the Tigers a 9-5 cushion.

They needed every single run as the Warriors refused to go away.

Gensley walked to open the bottom of the seventh inning. Mackenzie Allie then reached on an error and Roberts blooped the ball into shallow left field for her fourth hit of the night, filling the bases. Gensley was forced out at home on a ball hit to third by Jack, and Kempf followed with a two RBI single, plating Allie and Roberts.

Ralene Hawkins then drove in Roberts on a sac fly to right field which Ray made a nice play on, pulling HLV to within 9-8. With two outs and Kempf, the tying run 45 feet from home, Pederson got Kyla Roberts, the only senior on the Warriors’ roster, to hit a ground ball to Skyler Hoyt at third base and Hoyt tossed the ball over to Rathjen at first for the final out.

Each team committed five errors. IV had six hits, HLV five.