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Washington Evening Journal
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Tigers’ remarkable run comes to an end
Close season 14-12 after 6-11 start
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
RIVERSIDE — Regardless of the result, it was a remarkable run.
Highland defeated Iowa Valley 6-3 in a Class 1A regional softball final Monday, ending the Tigers’ season one win shy of their first ever state-appearance.
The Tigers won three games as the visiting team to get to this point, including a win over No. 4 Southeast Warren. Highland won two on the road in Region 4 as well, knocking off perennial power North Linn along the way.
The upsets caused an unusual regional final match-up between two unranked teams.
Three of the Huskies’ six runs were unearned.
“We just had a few too many errors,” Iowa Valley coach Monica Miller said.
Highland played small ball to score a few of their runs and advance runners on the base pads.
Maiya Singbeil brought in the first run for the Huskies in the second.
The Tigers scored two in the top of the fourth to take the lead.
Lydia Kriegel started things off with a leadoff triple. Izzy Kriegel followed with an RBI-double and Mallory Hauschilt with an RBI-single.
The Huskies tied things up right away off an error.
In the bottom of the fifth, Lilly Barre hit a go-ahead two-run home run to give the Huskies the lead for good.
Trailing 6-2, the Tigers threw one last punch in the seventh.
Olyvia Grant brought in a run on a single, but that’s all the Tigers could muster.
A strikeout ended the game with the bases loaded. The Tigers finished with an 8-5 hit advantage.
“Super proud that we came back and fought,” said Miller. “In the seventh inning we kept fighting and didn’t give up.”
The Tigers close their season at 14-12, their most wins since 2013.
Two impactful seniors, Lydia and Izzy Kriegel, end their run as Tigers.
“Lydia and Izzy have been amazing,” Miller said. “They have taken us to this point.”
Returning eight starters next season and toting a newfound confidence, the Tigers hope they can build off this postseason run.
“I think from here we can build on it,” said Miller. “Our girls’ (athletics) have not seen a lot of success, but this (run) shows them that we can do it too.”
