Regina’s Girls of Glitter are a win away from a Class 2A state softball title repeat

FORT DODGE — Pity the pour soul who has cleanup duty wherever the Regina Regals are staying.

“My room is a mess,” Ashley Webb said. “There’s glitter everywhere. It’s on my bed. It’s on the floor. I’m going to have to vacuum.”

The Girls of Glitter stormed through their Class 2A semifinal at the state softball tournament Wednesday afternoon at the Rogers Sports Complex.

Dani Laughlin and Courtney Kessler both were 4-for-4, and top-ranked Iowa City Regina pasted No. 5 Interstate 35 in five innings, 13-1.

A day after going extra innings to get past Northeast in Round 1, the Regals (29-8) were brilliant, amassing 14 hits.

Kessler’s three-run home run in the fifth put this one to bed. She had six RBIs.

“I have a game plan before I go to the plate, and if I execute that game plan, I can kind of coast during the at-bat,” she said.

There was no coasting in the Regals in this one. They jumped in front immediately and never let the Roadrunners (26-13) up for air.

“We love to score first and put the pressure on the other team,” Kessler said.

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After Ashley Webb (18-6) retired I-35 in order in the top of the first, the Regals went to work.

Avery Kies walked. Laughlin singled. Kessler drove in a run with a single. Webb knocked in another with a single.

Gabby Sueppel singled. Kennedy Conner walked. Morgan Gahan walked with the bases loaded. Jillian Panther’s groundout plated another run.

It was water torture, one cup at a time. And it was 4-0 in a hurry.

Regina tacked on two runs in the second, four in the fourth (Sueppel’s two-run single was the big blow there) for a 10-1 lead.

Alli Clark led off the fifth with a walk, Laughlin had a one-out single, then Kessler finished it off.

Kessler, for the record, is the originator of the hair scheme.

“You get a bunch of gel for the braids, then mix it in with the glitter,” she said. “I got it at Target. I don’t want to say how much I spent; my dad will probably get mad.”

Can’t get too mad for too long after a six-RBI outing, right, Pops?

Laughlin said the shiny stuff was “all over my pillow” after the first-round win. “I had to shampoo my hair three times.”,

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Photos: Iowa City Regina vs. Interstate 35 in state softball semifinals

Angela Kessler, Courtney’s mom and the Regals’ head coach, will join the team with a sparkly scalp for Friday’s title game.

“I’m kind of scared about it, to be honest,” she said.

Regina will face No. 2 Van Meter (36-5) for the 2A championship at 5 p.m. Friday.

One more win would cement Regina’s fifth 2A championship. The Regals reigned in 2011, 2015, 2017 and 2022.

Iowa City Regina 13, Interstate 35 1

Class 2A State Semifinal, at Fort Dodge

Interstate 35 000 10 — 1 3 2

Iowa City Regina 420 43 — 13 14 0

Katie Murphy and Trinity Darst. Ashley Webb and Courtney Kessler. W — Webb (18-6). L — Murphy (17-11). HR — ICR: Kessler (3).

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com