Xavier softball rallies past Cougars — twice

CEDAR RAPIDS — The Xavier Saints got two the hard way.

'You could say that,' said Coach Nikki Price. 'The hard way. The stressful way.'

The miraculous way.

Class 4A seventh-rated Cedar Rapids Xavier overcame a 7-1 deficit, scoring seven runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to edge Cedar Rapids Kennedy, 8-7, in the second game of a Mississippi Valley Conference softball double-header late Tuesday night at Bob Erusha Field.

Really late. Like 11:30 late.

The Saints (2-0 overall, 2-0 MVC) won the first one, 6-5, scoring the go-ahead run on a double by Courtney Colston — moments after she had missed a squeeze sign.

'I sure did,' Colston said. 'It was definitely my fault. I left my teammate hung out to dry. I had to make up for it the best I could.'

The double-header was scheduled for 5:30 p.m., but a cell of rain hit shortly after 5.

After the rain stopped and fieldwork commenced, the first pitch was thrown at 7:22.

Two long, dramatic games followed.

'We're just not finishing yet,' said first-year Kennedy coach Dan Gratz, who succeeded Katie Bova after last season. 'We competed with one of the top teams in the state. We had a chance to win. It's going to happen.'

Kennedy (0-2, 0-2) led the opener 4-0, then 5-3.

Xavier's Steph Wehr tied it with a two-run single, making it 5-all, and the Saints had runners at second and third with one out and Colston at the plate.

Price called for the squeeze, but Colston missed the sign. Then she drove the next pitch to the left-field fence to give the Saints the lead for good.

That comeback was mild compared to what was to come.

Kennedy scored three times in the top of the seventh to extend its Game 2 lead to 7-1. It seemed safe.

It wasn't.

'You could just tell we had a different mindset,' Price said. 'We talk about going to the plate with a purpose. They were determined to put the ball in play and see what happened.

'We just pulled together.'

Allison Schwach singled. Kailee Becker did likewise. Morgan Breitbach walked.

Then Erin Drahozal capped a 5-for-6 night with a grand slam to pull the Saints within 7-5.

With one out, Cassie Himmelsbach singled and Wehr walked. Jamie Feltes doubled home a run to make it 7-6, then the tying tally came home on a wild pitch.

Colston's liner to left was misplayed, and the Saints' rally — and an unlikely sweep — was complete.

GAME ONE

C.R. Kennedy 401 000 0 — 5 4 1

C.R. Xavier 300 003 x — 6 8 0

Jenna Schwartzhoff and Peyton Baskerville. Erin Drahozal and Steph Wehr. W — Drahozal (1-0). L — Schwartzhoff (0-1). HR — CRK: Baskerville (1).

GAME TWO

C.R. Kennedy 200 200 3 — 7 9 2

C.R. Xavier 010 000 7 — 8 11 2

Andrea McEachran, Jenna Schwartzhoff (7) and Lauren Kubovec. Kylie Oldridge, Maria Steffen (7) and Cassie Himmelsbach. W — Steffen (1-0). L — Schwartzhoff (0-2). HR — CRX: Erin Drahozal (1).

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