No. 1 Benton on full alert

It appears to be a complete and utter mismatch. The top-ranked team in the state against a team with one win.

But Eric Stenberg needs nothing more than recent history to ensure that his team is taking nothing for granted.

'The kids were very disappointed with how things ended last year,” said Stenberg, the softball coach at Benton Community. 'We're not going to let that happen again.

'We're not talking about anything other than our first opponent. We scouted them as much as possible. Our plan is to get out there and get after it.”

No. 1 Benton (35-4) takes a 26-game winning streak into Tuesday's Class 3A quarterfinal against Tipton (1-23). First pitch is 7 p.m. Tuesday at Van Horne.

'It's been a nice run for sure,” Stenberg said. 'We've had some teams that have challenged us, and we've had to come from behind. We don't want to make that a pattern.”

And the Bobcats don't want a sequel to last year's postseason, which ended in the first round against Vinton-Shellsburg.

'Tipton's got some good athletes. Any time you're playing a team with speed and puts the ball in play, you have to be concerned,” Stenberg said.

Benton counters with numerous weapons, including pitcher Amber Fiser (18-2, 0.40 ERA, 226 strikeouts) and Alyssa Wiebel (.526), whose 14 home runs are third most in the state.

Tuesday marks the beginning of the tournament road in 3A and 2A. Benton is one of three Wamac Conference teams ranked in 3A. The others - No. 6 Center Point-Urbana and No. 12 Mount Vernon - are a pretty good bet to play in a regional final.

CPU (25-9) opens at home against Oelwein (8-26); Mount Vernon (27-9) hosts Dyersville Beckman (9-28).

In 2A, all of the top teams have a first-round bye and get started on Wednesday. That includes No. 1 Highland, No. 14 North Cedar and No. 15 Alburnett.

TUESDAY'S CLASS 3A REGIONAL QUARTERFINALS

(All games 7 p.m.)

Region 4

South Tama at East Marshall

Union at Waterloo Columbus

Waukon at Crestwood

New Hampton at North Fayette Valley

Region 5

Oelwein at Center Point-Urbana

Independence at Vinton-Shellsburg

Dyersville Beckman at Mount Vernon

Monticello at Anamosa

Region 6

Tipton at Benton Community

Camanche at Northeast

Louisa-Muscatine at Mid-Prairie

Williamsburg at West Liberty

TUESDAY'S CLASS 2A REGIONAL FIRST ROUND

(All games 7 p.m.)

Region 3

Aplington-Parkersburg at South Hardin (winner plays at Central Springs on Wednesday)

Grundy Center at Dike-New Hartford (winner plays at North Butler on Wednesday)

Nashua-Plainfield at South Winneshiek (winner plays at Denver)

Wapsie Valley at MFL MarMac (winner plays at Sumner-Fredericksburg)

Region 4

Bellevue at Cascade (winner plays at Durant on Wednesday)

Maquoketa Valley at Clayton Ridge (winner plays at North Cedar on Wednesday)

West Branch at Wilton (winner plays at Iowa City Regina on Wednesday)

North Linn at Edgewood-Colesburg (winner plays at Alburnett on Wednesday)

Region 5

Van Buren at Pekin (winner plays at Highland on Wednesday)

Danville at Columbus Junction (winner plays at Wapello on Wednesday)

BGM at Cardinal (winner plays at Pella Christian on Wednesday)

Iowa Valley at Jesup (winner plays at North Tama on Wednesday)

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