No. 1 Solon rolls to regional final

SOLON - Ali Herdliska could play anywhere.

'She's one of the best catchers I've ever had,” said Solon Coach Jim White. 'Obviously, she was a great third baseman for us last year. Now she plays second really well.

'Heck, she was begging me to let her pitch a JV game.”

These days, Herdliska is just grateful to be playing at all.

'I'm not wasting any pitches,” she said Friday after a 3-for-4, three-RBI performance as No. 1 Solon dumped No. 12 Mid-Prairie, 12-2, in a Class 3A regional semifinal softball game at the Solon High School athletic complex. 'I just want to make up for lost time.”

Herdliska, a senior bound for South Dakota State, missed the first half of the season with a broken wrist, sustained during the spring while playing soccer.

'All I wanted to do was get back with my team,” she said. 'I was so happy when I could put a uniform back on instead of wearing khakis on the bench.”

Solon (38-3) will face Monroe PCM in a regional final at 7 p.m. Monday at Grinnell. PCM (22-10) outlasted Bondurant-Farrar, 5-4, in eight innings Friday.

Monday's winner advances to the state tournament. The Spartans are gunning for their fifth straight trip to Fort Dodge. Meanwhile, Mid-Prairie's state streak ends at five in a row.

The Spartans spotted the Golden Hawks (22-13) an early 2-0 lead on solo home runs by Emma Troyer and Ali Naylor in the bottom of the second inning. But they quickly tied the game in the third, then blew it open with six runs in the fourth.

'We knew we were going to hit the ball,” Herdliska said. 'The first time (through the order) was iffy. But that was just the beginning.”

Lexi Stebral, the No. 9 hitter, broke the 2-2 tie with a two-run double in the fourth, then Herdliska capped the eruption with a two-run bomb.

Solon finished with 12 hits. Taylor Nearad added three RBIs on a ground out, a sacrifice fly and a single.

Emily Ira (24-2) recovered quickly from Mid-Prairie's early power surge. She allowed just three more hits, striking out 17. She has fanned 324 this season (more than two per inning) and owns an ERA of 0.52.

'It happens,” Ira said of the early homers. 'They're a good hitting team. Later on, everything kind of came together.”

White said the Spartans are 'a totally different team” since Herdliska's return.

'She's a leader. She's a great clutch hitter. And she's a fantastic defensive player,” he said.

Nicole Oberthein hit her first home run of the season in the seventh inning.

SOLON 12, MID-PRAIRIE 2

Class 3A Regional Semifinal, at Solon

Solon 002 601 3 - 12 12 1

Mid-Prairie 020 000 0 - 2 5 3

Emily Ira and Monika Bevans. Emma Troyer, Taylor Kurtz (4), Troyer (7) and Ali Naylor. W - Ira (24-2). L - Troyer (12-6). HR - M-P: Troyer (3), Ali Naylor (4); SOL: Ali Herdliska (6), Nicole Oberthein (1).

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