J-Hawks a win from 9th straight state tournament

Hosannas to the Hannahs.Hannah Petersen struck out 15 batters in a masterful two-hitter, Hannah McInerney drove in two runs and No. 4 Cedar Rapids Jefferson came on late to pull away from Linn-Mar, 6-0, in a Class 4A regional softball semifinal last night at the Jefferson Softball Complex.“I was just in a groove, I guess,” Petersen said. “As the game goes on, I can usually tell if I've got it.”She had it. Petersen walked the first batter, then retired the next 10 - including nine straight via strikeout. She fanned eight swinging, seven looking.“Pete had a pretty good night,” said Jefferson Coach Larry Niemeyer. “Her rise (ball) was working, and she had good location. I knew when she was warming up that she was going to have a good night.”Jefferson (34-6) eyes its ninth consecutive state tournament appearance when it meets No. 3 Muscatine at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. The Muskies (34-4) downed Davenport West, 5-0, last night.“They're 3, we're 4, and I really want to beat them,” said McInerney, who was 3-for-4 and broke a scoreless tie with a two-out single in the fourth. “I just want to get back to state again.”The J-Hawks swept Linn-Mar, 12-0 and 15-0, in a doubleheader June 24, but the Lions (12-25) had improved drastically in the last three weeks, winning nine of 12 games.Linn-Mar made the first major push. Lindsey Harms led off with a walk and moved to third before Petersen recorded her first two strikeout casualties of the game. The Lions didn't threaten again.Five of Jefferson's runs scored with two outs. The first and the last came courtesy of McInerney.“My goal was just to hit the ball on the ground,” she said. “I didn't want to pop out. I tried to take my hands through the ball.”McInerney singled home Alex Jacobson to break the ice in the fourth. Jacobson had doubled to lead off the frame.Jefferson added two runs in the fifth, two in the sixth and one in the seventh to pull away. The J-Hawks got contributions from just about everybody: McInerney had two RBIs, four of her teammates added one apiece, and six players crossed the plate.Rachel Sedlacek, Morgan Allee and Jacobson collected two hits apiece.Leah Beck had both of Linn-Mar's hits.