Saints hold on for tourney crown

MARION - Nikki Gahring has a baby on the way, but that's not what caused her heart rate to soar Saturday afternoon.

'I'd hate to get my blood pressure tested right now. It has to be through the roof,” Gahring said after her Xavier Saints held off Class 3A sixth-ranked Center Point-Urbana, 8-6, at Oak Ridge Middle School to claim the championship of the 16-team Linn-Mar/Alburnett Invitational softball tournament.

Cassie Himmelsbach drove in four runs and Jamie Feltes added two RBIs as Xavier (17-9) built a seemingly untouchable 8-0 lead entering the bottom of the seventh inning.

But Xavier starting pitcher Erin Drahozal exited the game with pain in her right shoulder, and the Stormin' Pointers (20-11) made it interesting. Very interesting.

The first seven CPU batters reached base - including a two-run single by Elizabeth Hearn and a two-run triple by Maddie Karr. The Stormin' Pointers got within 8-6 and had the tying run at the plate before closer Maria Steffen shut the door.

'It got nerve-racking, but we pulled it out,” Himmelsbach said. 'That's all that matters, right.”

Drahozal, whose pain became more visible as the game progressed - after a seventh-inning single, she tucked her arm against her torso as she ran back to the dugout - said her shoulder had hurt 'a little this week. (A doctor visit) is probably the next thing. It hurts, but I could have gone back in.

'I'll be fine.”

Xavier completed an 8-0 week.

'We really focused on communication,” Himmelsbach said. 'Without it, our team goes down. With it, we can beat anyone.”

Said Gahring, who is due with her first child within two weeks: 'It was a good week. Every game, we're learning something new.”

The Saints advanced with a 2-1 semifinal win over Linn-Mar; CPU edged Fort Dodge, 7-6.

The championship contest was scoreless until the top of the fourth, when Feltes chased home Jenna Schwach with a sacrifice fly.

Himmelsbach's two-run single made it 3-0 in the sixth, then another run scored on an error. Himmelsbach struck again with another two-run single in the seventh that capped a four-run outburst that, as it turned out, was very necessary.

LINN-MAR/ALBURNETT TOURNAMENT

Consolation

Bettendorf 5, Waverly-Shell Rock 0

Northeast 12, Sigourney 2

Don Bosco 4, Vinton-Shellsburg 3

New Hampton 15, Clinton 6

Cedar Rapids Kennedy 4, Alburnett 0

Cedar Rapids Washington 5, Monticello 4

Semifinals

Center Point-Urbana 7, Fort Dodge 6

Cedar Rapids Xavier 2, Linn-Mar 1

15th Place

Vinton-Shellsburg 7, Clinton 2

13th Place

Don Bosco 4, New Hampton 1

11th Place

Monticello 8, Alburnett 3

9th Place

Cedar Rapids Kennedy 4, Cedar Rapids Washington 3

7th Place

Waverly-Shell Rock 5, Sigourney 4

5th Place

Northeast 9, Bettendorf 4

3rd Place

Fort Dodge 3, Linn-Mar 2

Championship

Cedar Rapids Xavier 8, Center Point-Urbana 6

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com