Late runs give Central City a cushion in 5-0 regional softball win over Kee

CENTRAL CITY — Avery Wise was dominant. But she wasn’t safe.

Not until late.

Central City tacked on four runs in the sixth inning and pushed past Lansing Kee, 5-0, in a Class 1A softball regional quarterfinal Wednesday night at Central City High School.

“We felt a lot better when we got those,” senior Lexi Hennick said. “And Avery was amazing. I’m so proud of her.”

A sophomore, Wise (26-7) allowed three hits and surrendered two walks, striking out nine.

“My fastball and change-up were pretty good tonight,” she said.

Central City (29-12) advances to face nemesis North Linn in the regional-semifinal round Friday at Troy Mills. The ninth-ranked Lynx (27-13) were 5-0 winners over Starmont.

The Wildcats have fielded some fine teams in recent years, but haven’t been able to conquer the Lynx.

“We hope to go in strong,” Wise said. “We’re going to go at them.

Hennick added, “It would be amazing. I think we’re capable.”

  Buy Photo

Wise held Kee (20-19) hitless through the first four innings. But the Wildcats’ advantage was a tenuous 1-0 until the sixth.

“Kee is Kee,” Central City Coach Dave Johnson said. “One good inning, they can string together three or four hits.

“But we said, ‘Keep putting pressure on them, and hopefully something will break.’ It finally did in the sixth inning.”

Savannah Koch led off with an infield single. Two walks, a couple of wild pitches and a pair of errors enabled the Wildcats to put the outcome to bed.

“I’m not going to lie ... I was a little nervous before that,” Hennick said.

Central City struck for its first run in the third inning. Belle Whitson led off with a single, moved to second on a wild pitch, to third on a groundout and scored on Hennick’s sacrifice bunt.

“Coach kind of left it up to me,” Hennick said. “I wanted to get one on the board for us.”

Kee had a promising start in the fifth on Isabelle Mettille’s leadoff single, but she was called out for leaving first base early. The Hawks didn’t have a runner advance past second base all night.

“Avery threw a really good game,” Johnson said. “She has elevated her game to the next level. She has become a lot more consistent. She has the ability to pitch out of jams.”

Recommended Reading

Photos: Kee vs. Central City in Class 1A regional softball quarterfinals

Central City 5, Lansing Kee 0

Class 1A Regional Quarterfinal, at Central City

Lansing Kee 000 000 0 — 0 3 2

Central City 001 004 x — 5 7 1

Addison Winters, Lillian Kolsrud (6) and Rylee Mudderman. Avery Wise and Bailee Weber. W — Wise (26-7). L — Winters (12-10).

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com