OTTUMWA, IA – We've learned a few lessons about Indian Hills softball this postseason.
They're going to fall behind. They're going to come back. They'll end up scoring double digits, and they'll have the sixth inning to thank for a large portion of it.
Oh, and… they will find a way to win.
Through four games since the regular season came to an end, all of these things have held true in the Region XI Tournament for Coach Lindsay Diehl's Warriors as IHCC captured their sixth consecutive Region Title Wednesday with by sweeping visiting Iowa Western, 11-7 and 12-7 at R.L. Hellyer Field.
The Warriors have scored no fewer than 11 runs in any of the four Regional contests and have used the sixth inning to catapult themselves to victory in all four games, scoring no less than four runs in the sixth frame in the sweeps over Southwestern in the semifinals and Iowa Western in the finals.
"I told the girls after game one that I was proud of them for continuing to fight, but if they want to go ahead and start the first inning the way they play in the sixth, that would be great," Diehl said after seeing her team clinch the schools 24th Region XI postseason championship. "Apparently the girls are thinking, 'nah, we're good, let's go with the sixth, that's where we like it at.'"
The Warriors were forced to come from behind in both contests right out of the gate as the Reivers pounced on Diehl's starter with a three-spot in game one and a four-run outburst in game two.
"We've really shown that if somebody goes up on us, we're going to keep chipping away, and keep playing this game one pitch at a time," Diehl said. "My kids didn't try to do too much, but they put a good barrel on the ball, and stayed in the ball game and they did that so I was pleased."
Nicole Bellis hit the first of two homers in game one in the bottom of the first to pull the Warriors to within 3-2, and Anna Voigt got IHCC even with an RBI-single in the second, but Iowa Western kept the pressure on with a two-run bomb off the bat of Katarina Bain in the top of the third to make it 5-3, Reivers.
Bellis came to the rescue again in the fifth with another two-run shot to left in the fifth to knot it up at five apiece setting the stage for the Warriors favorite inning.
With one out in the sixth, three singles, three walks and a double led to six runs and it chased Reiver ace Brooke Melnychuck, and just like that, the Warriors were in command 11-5. Kennedy Preston's double was the big blow in the flurry, as her liner to left plated three, and all but ended Iowa Western's chances in the opener.
"I was happy with how we came out in game one," Diehl said. "I just kept thinking, if we can hit Melnychuck and bump her out, I like what it looks like for us. It usually takes my kids one time through the lineup to start making some adjustments."
Game two was nearly a carbon copy of the first as Iowa Western tagged starter C.J. Banner in the opening frame with four runs including a leadoff homer from Matytilyn Reiling.
There would be no panic from the Warriors; however, as IHCC got a leadoff round tripper of their own, albeit an unconventional one. Peyton Moffet smoked a ball off the top of the fence in right field to start the bottom of the first that ricocheted and knocked Reiver outfielder Aujenai Gregory to the ground. By the time Iowa Western could get someone else to the ball, Moffet had circled the bases.
"I could tell Peyton was very confused as to why I was still sending her," Diehl added. "Everyone was so quiet, and I was really loud telling her to hurry, but I was glad that (Gregory) was okay. I felt bad because I could tell she was hurt, but I was like, we're scoring this."
The teams would trade runs back and forth the next two innings, but IWCC still led 6-2 heading to the bottom of the third. Chloe Olson got Indian Hills within three with a sacrifice fly to center, but Breanna Newton pummeled a game-tying three-run homer to left, much to the delight of the sun-splashed fans at Hellyer Field.
"I just kept thinking, I don't want to live on the long ball, but we were getting into that part of the lineup," Diehl said. "Bre is due right here. Bre's going to hit one and it could tie it up right here, and she did that, so I was happy that she answered that call."
Bellis would tack on two more for the Warriors in the fourth with a double that plated Moffet and Bryanna Mehaffy to make it 8-6. Bellis came into the contest tied with IHCC Hall of Famer Kelly Uhde (1994-96) for the single-season record for RBI with 94, but would earn the top spot in the record books in style with seven runs batted in over the two contests to give her a total of 101 heading into the District Series.
"She's one of the pickiest pitch hitters," Diehl said of Bellis. "She waits for her pitch, and then when she gets it, she can do something with it. She can turn on that inside pitch. I wouldn't want to be calling pitches against her."
Iowa Western would get a solo homerun in the top of the sixth from Logan Corcoran to get within a run of the lead, but trailing Indian Hills heading into their half of the sixth is no winning formula these days, and IHCC made sure to keep their sixth inning magic going as back-to-back two-RBI singles from Preston and Newton delivered the knockout punch to the Reivers as the Warriors headed to the seventh with a comfortable 12-7 lead.
Game two winner Malarie Huseman (16-6), who came on in relief of Banner in the second inning, worked around a two out single in the final frame to close the door on the Iowa Western (42-22) season.
"I'm proud of Mal," Diehl said. "She's a kid that such a spinner, but then she tries to overpower people, and that's not her craft, so stick to your craft and do what you do. When she does that, it's just like okay, connect your brain to your fingertips, and let's just spin the seams and go to work and she did that, so I was happy to see her do that."
The Warriors are now just two games away from a trip to Yuma, Arizona for the NJCAA Division I National Championships. Standing in their way is Region XVI Champion, Three Rivers (40-4), who will host IHCC beginning Sunday, for a best-of-three series at noon in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. If needed a winner-take-all third game would be played on Monday at noon.
"I think it'll be a good, a good battle for us," Diehl said. "Hopefully our pitchers can get a little rest and be ready to go to work because offensively, we're able to put some runs on the board for them."
REGION XI FINAL SERIES
GAME ONE
Iowa Western 302 000 2 – 7 7 0
Indian Hills 210 026 x – 11 11 1
Brooke Melnychuck, Libby Walls (6) and Katarina Bain. Margot van Eijl and Kennedy Preston.
W – van Eijl (18-2). L – Melnychuck (27-8).
E – Newton. LOB – IW 3, IH 5. 2B - Strandlund, Preston. HR - Gregory, Beckstrom, Bain 2, Bellis 2. RBI - Gregory, Beckstrom 2, Bain 4, Bellis 4, Mehaffy, Olson, Preston 2, Voigt. SB - Mehaffy.
GAME TWO
Iowa Western 411 001 0 – 7 11 1
Indian Hills 114 204 x – 12 12 0
Libby Walls, Brooke Melnychuck (5) and Katarina Bain. C.J. Banner, Malarie Huseman (2) and Kennedy Preston.
W – Huseman (16-6). L – Walls (9-7)
E – Reiling. LOB – IW 6, IH 5. 2B – Beckstrom, Bellis. 3B – Mehaffy. HR – Corcoran, Reiling, Strandlund, Moffet, Newton. RBI – Corcoran, Reiling, Gregory 2, Strandlund, Beckstrom, Walls, Bellis 2, Moffet, Newton 5, Olson, Preston, Voigt. SAC – Walls, Olson. HBP – Bellis. SB – Bain.