McClure’s no-no helps Comets break Bullettes

ELDON — The 15th-ranked Cardinal softball team sent the visiting Mediapolis Bullettes home hungry in Wednesday night’s regional quarterfinal.

Mediapolis couldn’t put one hit up on the board during a five-inning crushing by the Comets. McClure struck out seven batters and allowed just one unearned run and a pair of walks.

On the offensive side, Cardinal was just as good. The Comets scored five runs in the first inning, one each in the second and third and five more in the fourth.

Ava Ferrell and Emma Becker co-anchored the offense. Ferrell was 3-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored, and Becker went 3-for-3 with one RBI. Kinsey Hissem had a nice game as well, going 2-for-3 with a triple and two RBIs.

McClure collected a pair of hits on the day. Riley Bears knocked two runs in. Brinlee Ostrander, Madison Diveley and Cynthia Albert all knocked one run in. Caitlyn Reber had two hits and a run scored. Ashlynn Patrick scored twice, and Maddy Lawson scored once.

Cardinal, now 21-12 on the season, earned a semifinal berth against Durant (15-18) on Friday night. The winner will either face No. 8 Louisa Muscatine (23-8) or Van Buren County (12-11) in Monday’s regional final.