7th inning catastrophic for Clippers

FORT DODGE -- Two walks. Two errors.

Too much to overcome.

Sixth-ranked Keokuk capitalized on some seventh-inning misadventures by No. 2 Clear Creek Amana, scoring four times in the final frame to dethrone the defending champion, 6-4, in a Class 3A semifinal at the state softball tournament Thursday at the Rogers Sports Complex.

"Our kids kept hitting and kept battling," said Keokuk Coach Merle Jones. "They stayed in the game, even after I thought we might have let it slip away."

Keokuk (34-9) faces No. 1 Carlisle (37-2) for the championship at 4 p.m. Friday.

The Chiefs' late rally was filled with irony. They had been excruciatingly passive on the basepaths through much of the game.

When they finally became aggressive and put some pressure on the Clippers (39-6), it paid off handsomely.

"We were fortunate to be in the lead," said CCA Coach Jim White, referring to the fact that Keokuk outhit the Clippers by an 11-5 margin.

With the Clippers clinging to a 4-2 lead in the top of the sixth, White replaced starting pitcher Mariah McKinnon with Maliah Fligg. The move paid off initially -- Fligg retired the Chiefs in order in the sixth.

The seventh, that didn't work out so well.

Alicia Jones walked. Hannah Washburn singled. Reagan Zutterlund walked.

"I put Fligg in a tough spot," White said. "But I thought it was the best decision, because they had been hitting Mariah."

The bases were loaded with no outs, and White re-inserted McKinnon on the mound.

"I had faith in my team," McKinnon said. "I thought we would pull through."

Instead, the Clippers threw the ball away twice on infield grounders, the Chiefs scored four times and the dream of back-to-back titles died a swift, painful death.

CCA faces Chariton (26-4)  in the third-place game at 3 p.m. Friday.

The Clippers broke a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the third. Fligg's infield single drove in Fran Strub, and Caitlin Wnek followed Strub home on an errant throw.

Keokuk got within 3-2 in the fourth, but the Clippers got the run back in the fifth on Wnek's RBI double.

Wnek also drove in a run with a first-inning ground out.

Washburn was 3-for-4 for Keokuk.

Keokuk ........................................................ 001 100 4 -- 6  11  1

Clear Creek Amana ................................... 102 010 0 -- 4   5   2

Hannah Washburn (W) and Mollie Martin. Mariah McKinnon, Maliah Fligg (L,6), McKinnon (7) and Maddy Beckler.