Hansen takes her bases, in stride

FORT DODGE - Maddie Hansen displayed neither impatience nor frustration.

'Linn-Mar has been known to walk me,” the Cedar Rapids Jefferson slugger said. 'I've come to expect it.

'It's the sign of respect, and I respect them too. (Linn-Mar Coach John Begley) is a great coach.”

Hansen took four intentional free passes in the J-Hawks' 6-3 win in Monday's Class 5A state-quarterfinal victory at the Rogers Sports Complex. Each time, she tossed the bat toward the Jefferson dugout, clapped for on-deck hitter Erin Kuba as she jogged to first base and waited for courtesy runner Kaylee Donner to be summoned.

In the three games between these teams (two won by the J-Hawks), Hansen was 1-for-1 with a double and 11 walks (10 intentional).

'We pitched to her once, and she hit the center of the fence, and that's a 225-foot fence,” Begley said. 'If you walk her, you're giving her one base. If you don't walk her, you might be giving her a bunch of bases.”

Hansen was walked with runners on base, and - on one occasion - to lead off an inning.

Her four walks Monday sends her season total to 34. She is hitting .504 with 19 doubles, 11 home runs and 46 RBIs.

Kennedy Dighton finally made the Lions pay for their strategy in the fifth inning, knocking in two runs to extend Jefferson's lead to 4-1.

In Hansen's final plate appearance, she fouled off a 3-and-0 pitch that sailed too close to the strike zone.

'If it was close, I was going to swing away,” she said. 'If it wasn't, I was going to take my walk, sit down and cheer on the girls behind me.”

Jefferson (36-7) faces second-ranked, defending-champion Johnston (34-4) in the semifinals Thursday.

HERE COMES THE WAMAC

The Wamac Conference will make up half of the Class 3A field in Tuesday's quarterfinals, including an all-Wamac battle between No. 2 Benton Community (40-3) and No. 13 Mount Vernon (29-9) at 7:30 p.m. The Bobcats and the Mustangs did not play during the regular season.

Top-ranked Solon (39-3) kicks off the 3A smorgasbord at 1:30 p.m. against defending-champion Clarke (20-17), then No. 8 Center Point-Urbana (29-13) meets No. 7 Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley (31-3) at 3:30 p.m.

The River Valley Conference sends three teams into the 2A field, including an intraleague battle between No. 8 Durant (27-8) and No. 10 Iowa City Regina (23-14) at 3 p.m. No. 14 Cascade (22-10) takes on No. 5 North Union (33-9) at 7.

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