Rivalries dot regional semis

Welcome to Rivalry Saturday, softball edition.As if the stakes aren't high enough at this level -- we've reached the regional semifinals in classes 4A and 5A -- several matchups in the area Saturday feature intense rivalries.Among them:Cedar Rapids Washington travels to 10th-ranked Cedar Rapids Jefferson and Cedar Rapids Prairie hosts Linn-Mar in Class 5A. Oh, and there's that little Iowa City West-Iowa City High encounter, too.And in 4A, No. 10 Benton Community hosts county rival Vinton-Shellsburg.Benton Coach Ali Galbraith hasn't played the Vinton card to her team."We haven't talked about it," she said. "We just consider it another team that we've got to beat to win the regional tournament."All games Saturday start at 7 p.m. Winners advance to regional finals Tuesday.West (21-19) and City High (19-18) split their regular-season games. The Women of Troy were extremely impressive in an 11-0 rout of Cedar Rapids Kennedy on Thursday; City High had a first-round bye."If we play like we did (Thursday), the next game is a do-able game," said Erin Kallsen, who had four RBIs.Jefferson (29-11) has historically owned Washington, but this year's Warriors (14-24) are one of the best team's at the school in recent history. Washington has won 12 of its last 19 games.Prairie (25-14) also is ascendant under first-year coach Joe Yegge. But Linn-Mar (16-21) is a threat with a five-game winning streak.As for Vinton-Shellsburg (23-15) and Benton (31-5), they played a double-header Monday. The Bobcats needed a split to lock up the Wamac Conference West Division title, and they got it.It was Benton's first league title since 1993."It's been a great year, it's been a lot of fun and we don't want it to end anytime soon," Galbraith said. "Our biggest challenge (Saturday), we have to come out ready from the first pitch. We can't wait to get going."In other games involving area ranked teams, No. 3 Solon (38-2) hosts DeWitt Central (25-16) and No. 6 Cedar Rapids Xavier (29-11) entertains No. 15 North Scott (23-14) in 4A.  

SATURDAY'S CLASS 5A REGIONAL SEMIFINALS

(All games, 7 p.m.)

Region 5Davenport West (24-15) at Pleasant Valley (29-10)Linn-Mar (16-21) at Cedar Rapids Prairie (25-14)

Region 6Bettendorf (22-11) at Muscatine (36-3)Cedar Rapids Washington (14-24) at Cedar Rapids Jefferson (29-11)

Region 7Iowa City West (21-19) at Iowa City High (19-18)Burlington (19-18) at Ottumwa (34-6)

SATURDAY'S CLASS 4A REGIONAL SEMIFINALS

(All games, 7 p.m.)

Region 2Decorah (15-17) at Waverly-Shell Rock (32-8)Webster City (25-6) at Ballard (24-10)

Region 3Maquoketa (22-16) at West Delaware (25-14)DeWitt Central (25-16) at Solon (38-2)

Region 4Keokuk (24-17) at Washington (27-11)North Scott (23-14) at Cedar Rapids Xavier (29-11)

Region 5Vinton-Shellsburg (23-15) at Benton Community (31-5)Clear Creek Amana (23-15) at Carlisle (30-7)