Just one game, but enough drama for two

CEDAR RAPIDS - Yeah, there was lightning, enough to cut the night short prematurely.

The real electricity, that came with the first pitch.

First, though, the bottom line: Maddie Hansen did what she does best. And that was the difference.

Hansen's two-run single in the bottom of the sixth inning sent Class 5A fifth-ranked Cedar Rapids Jefferson to a 3-1 win over No. 10 Cedar Rapids Prairie in the first game of a somewhat-heated Mississippi Valley Conference softball double-header Tuesday night at Larry Niemeyer Field.

'I had a job to do,” Hansen said. 'There were two girls on base, and I had to make something happen and get them in.”

The second game was suspended by lightning in the first inning, with Prairie in front, 1-0.

If conditions allow, the nightcap will be completed at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. If not, the backup plan is 5 p.m. Monday.

Jefferson (7-0 overall, 5-0 MVC) extended its winning streak to nine games, but not without plenty of drama.

It began with Alyssa Olson's very first pitch, ruled to be illegal.

'(The umpires) called me for double planting my (back) foot,” said Olson, junior and a first-team all-stater.

Jefferson Coach Brian Erbe came out to dispute the call, then did so again with more animation five pitches later, when Olson was called again on a full-pitch offering that turned an apparent strikeout by leadoff hitter Mallory Jones into a base on balls.

Jones scored on a double by Gabi Carter to give the Hawks (4-1, 4-1) a 1-0 lead.

'After that, I concentrated on making my delivery smoother,” said Olson (4-0), who was cited one more time, in the seventh inning.

Hansen, the J-Hawks' catcher, said, 'I just had to help (Olson) stay cool, and not let it affect her game.”

Jefferson got the run right back in the bottom of the first, when Hansen singled home Katelyn Holub.

It remained 1-1 until the sixth, with Prairie freshman Natalie Halvorson serving as Olson's equal in the pitching circle.

Halvorson retired 13 straight batters into the fifth inning. Then the J-Hawks struck in the sixth with the top of their order.

Avery Guy singled - it was only the second hit of the game for the J-Hawks - to lead it off, then Holub's sacrifice bunt resulted in a throwing error, putting runners at first and third with no outs.

That brought up Hansen, who drove in 69 runs last year but had managed a mere five through the first six games.

Hansen smacked a 1-2 pitch up the middle to score Guy and Holub, then Olson put down the Hawks in order in the seventh.

C.R. JEFFERSON 3, C.R. PRAIRIE 1 (Game 1)

C.R. Prairie 100 000 0 - 1 5 1

C.R. Jefferson 100 002 x - 3 4 0

Natalie Halvorson and Natalie Rumer. Alyssa Olson and Maddie Hansen. W - Olson (4-0). L - Halvorson (2-1).

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@sourcemedia.net