Benton Community powers past Marion

CEDAR RAPIDS - The Cinderella slipper started to slip away from the Marion Indians last night just three batters into their substate final at Cedar Rapids Kennedy.The Benton Community Bobcats forcibly ripped it off for good in with a five-run sixth inning to knock off the upstart Indians, 7-0, and advance to their first state tournament since 2004.“We've been waiting for this since we were little kids,” said Benton catcher Tony Stenberg, who had three doubles and an RBI.“We've been playing together our whole lives,” added winning pitcher Ethan Brown, who struck out eight - including the final three batters - and walked none. “We've talked about this all of our lives.”The Bobcats (35-6, No. 3 in 3A) have seven senior starters, including Stenberg and Brown, who have made a childhood dream come true by advancing to Des Moines. They did so by turning the tables on Marion (19-22), which upset Central DeWitt and Class 3A No. 5 Davenport Assumption in district play by jumping ahead early and putting the pressure squarely on their opponents' shoulders.“We knew coming in that (Marion) Coach (Steve) Fish has a great team,” said Benton Coach Jared Pirkl. “We were fortunate enough to score a couple of runs early.”Those runs came after Marion freshman pitcher Cale Cannoy walked center fielder Reese Thompson to start the game and Brown flew out to center. Sternberg doubled to score Thompson and then scored on Jordan Kaiser's single, giving Benton a 2-0 lead.They maintained that lead until the sixth inning, when six hits - including three infield singles - widened the lead to the final margin.“We felt pressure; we got it right from the beginning,” Fish said. “Instead of playing loose like we have been lately, we were pressured.”Benton will try to bring home its first state title since merging with baseball powerhouse Norway in the early ‘90s.As the No. 3 team in 3A, the Bobcats are coming off a much more successful season than their 27-15 team that lost early in the state tournament in 2004.And while Brown cautioned against looking too far ahead instead of focusing on the opponent at hand – seventh-seed Storm Lake (19-12), who the second-seed Bobcats face Tuesday at 8 p.m. – Stenberg couldn't help himself.“We're going down there,” he said of Des Moines. “We might as well win it.”