Comets fall 1 game short

LETTS — For the second-straight year, the Cardinal softball team was one game away from the state tournament, and for the second-straight year the bounces just didn’t seem to go the Comets’ way.

No. 15 Cardinal fell victim to No. 8 Louisa-Muscatine, which defeated the Comets 2-0 in the Class 2A Region 7 championship on Monday night.

The Comets outhit the Falcons 9-4 on the night, putting the pressure on the Louisa-Muscatine defense all game long, but while Cardinal couldn’t push any runs across, the Falcons got the hits when they needed them.

“It just wasn’t out luck,” said Cardinal head coach Sabrina Morrison. “That’s what I told the girls.”

Cardinal had a couple of big chances early to take a lead. In the top of the first, Caitlyn Reber led the game off with a single, and Kinsey Hissem had a base knock with two outs, but neither would score. It would be the first of four times the Comets would strand two runners.

The biggest moment for the Cardinal offense happened in the third. With Maddy Lawson on first base with two outs, Emma Becker smoked a ball to left field, but it banged off the fence and she had to settle for a double. Louisa-Muscatine ace Piper Brent got the next out and it was still 0-0.

The Falcons capitalized on a defensive miscue by the Cardinal defense in the bottom of the third. The only error of the game turned into a two-out RBI double by junior McKenzie Kissell.

One inning later, Brant tacked another run on for herself. She lined a pitch to left field that got over the top of the fence for a solo home run, and in a flash, Louisa-Muscatine was up 2-0 after four innings.

“I looked at my book, and I said, ‘is it really the fifth inning?’” said Morrison. “I told the girls, they’ve got to play in the moment, but it’s hard to because it seems like it’s gone the minute you blink.”

The Comets had a pair of singles in the fifth inning, one each from Reber and Becker, but once again Louisa-Muscatine escaped.

But through it all, Cardinal still put together one last threat. The Comets hit the ball hard three times in the seventh, but it didn’t turn into any runs.

The defensive play of the game came with one out in the top of the seventh. With nobody on base, Reber lined a ball to right field, which one-hopped into the glove of Kissell. The Falcon junior hurled the ball into first base, narrowly nabbing Reber for the second out.

“We’ve worked on that play all year with McKinsey,” said Louisa-Muscatine head coach Bryan Butler. “She’s like a master at fielding the ball and going to one.”

And that play turned out to be enormous. Lawson gave the Comets some hope with a single to put one on base, and Becker followed with a single of her own, but what could have been a bases-loaded one out situation was two on and two down.

Hissem hit a bouncer to the left side of the infield, she was thrown out from third base and Louisa-Muscatine was able to celebrate a regional title.

“I just don’t think we attacked early enough in the game, and I think we got in our heads a little bit,” said Morrison. “But I’m proud of them for not giving up. They fought hard.”

Becker finished the night 3-for-4 with a double and two singles to lead the Cardinal offense. Reber and Lawson each went 2-for-4. McClure was 1-for-3, and Hissem finished 1-for-2. Riley Bears was the only Comet to draw a walk.

Stellar sophomore Nicoa McClure threw all six innings for the Comets, giving up just the two runs (one earned) on three hits. She struck out two Falcons in the loss.

The Comets finished 22-13 on the season. Cardinal will still return most of the lineup next year, but the team loses three seniors. Reber, Lawson and Bears all played their last game in a Comet uniform.

“A lot of leadership is leaving this squad,” Morrison said. “But they’ve learned, and I hope they’re going to bring back what those three seniors have left, because they’ve been a heck of a role model for the entire squad.”

Louisa-Muscatine (25-8) earned the No. 7 seed in the Class 2A state tournament. The Falcons will play second-seeded North Union (32-3) in the quarterfinals next Tuesday at 1 p.m.