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Washington Evening Journal
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Van Buren County Warriors eliminated by Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont Rockets in postseason opener
Van Buren County comes up short in 2A Region 7 battle with Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont
KEOSAUQUA — Van Buren County softball’s quest to reach Fort Dodge was derailed on Wednesday night against the Rockets of Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont.
In what was a neck-and-neck game between the Warriors and Rockets turned into a 4-1 EBF victory in the final two innings.
The Rockets got on the board with a single run in the first inning, but the Warriors answered back in the form of Ivy Davison.
The junior center fielder hit an RBI single scoring Callie Kracht and knotting the game at 1-1.
From that point on, the game stood at a standstill for the next four and a half innings.
Everything changed in the top of the sixth as EBF broke the tie.
The Rockets drew a walk and a two-out single by Taylor Kerby put runners at first and second.
In the next at-bat, Sadie Jager drilled an RBI double to give the Rockets a 2-1 lead of which they would never lose.
The Warriors were finding the ball all night long, but couldn’t get the ball through a stout Rocket defense.
VBC put the ball in play three times in the bottom of the sixth, but suffered three outs in the process.
In the seventh frame, the Rockets tacked on two more.
After a single to leadoff the inning, followed by a groundout, EBF’s Whitney Klyn stepped up to the plate and hit a two-run homer to left center pushing the Rockets lead to 4-1.
The Warriors never gave up.
After back-to-back strikeouts to begin the bottom of the seventh, Jade Balmer singled followed by a walk from Ally Campbell. Riley Cavaness then singled to load the bases with two outs.
However, the Warriors didn’t have enough outs to give as the Rockets got the strikeout to end it.
“Our kids played well,” Van Buren County head coach Randy Smith said. “We didn’t get the timely hits that we needed. We started four freshman and a sophomore. We’re really really young. Our seniors did a great job of leading us this year. This was a really good year for these kids and they’re just really fun to coach.”
Ivy Davison finished with one hit and one RBI in the loss. Callie Kracht, Jade Balmer and Ally Campbell each had a hit as well.
Campbell pitched a complete game for VBC, allowing four runs (four earned) on seven hits and three strikeouts.
The Warriors end the season at 19-8.
