A crown for the Regals in 2A softball

FORT DODGE -- She almost closed it out with a spectacular catch.

She gladly settled for the routine catch.

In the end, the game ended how it should -- the ball nestled snugly and safely in Julia Hunter's glove.

Hunter was named the all-tournament captain after 11th-ranked Iowa City Regina held off No. 5 West Burlington, 6-5, to capture the Class 2A championship at the state softball tournament Friday night at the Rogers Sports Complex.

"This feels awesome," the UNI signee said after the Regals completed a 31-12 campaign. "From Day 1, we knew this was what we wanted."

Eighth-grader Hannah Stein came on in relief, holding the high-powered Falcons (34-7) to one run in 3 2/3 innings to notch the pitching win.

"I kept thinking to myself that this is just a normal game," said the 14-year-old, who retired another eighth-grader, West Burlington's Riley Hale, for the final out.

"Coach (Jon Prottsman) asked me if I ever thought I would pitch for the championship as an eighth-grader. No, I never imagined this."

Regina broke a 4-4 tie with a pair of runs in the top of the seventh. Sydnay Lehman led off with a single, then Hunter added a base hit with one out to put runners at first and third.

Sara Kron plated Nikki Becker with a sacrifice fly to deep right field, then Megan Bonnett's infield hit drove home Hunter to make it 6-4.

West Burlington did not go down meekly.

Jamie Johnson opened the bottom of the seventh with a double down the left-field line. After Stein struck out two straight batters, Courtney Coffin hit a blooper down the left-field line, about 10 feet behind third base.

Hunter gave chase from her shortstop position and nearly made a diving web gem to end it.

"I went for it as fast as I could," she said. "I thought, 'This is it.' "

It wasn't. Not yet.

Three pitches later, Hale lifted a lazy fly ball directly at Hunter.

"I thought, 'This is routine, I've got it. We're going to win,' " she said.

She secured it, paused a moment, then joined her teammates in a championship celebration.

"I think it has sunk in more for the kids than it has for me," Prottsman said a few minutes afterward. "I'm so happy for them."

The first few innings were back and forth.

Hunter's RBI single gave Regina a 1-0 lead in the first, then Alex Yacko answered with a two-run single to put the Falcons in front in the bottom of the inning.

Both teams scored twice in the third. Kayci McChristy's two-run homer to left put Regina up 3-2, then singles by Yacko and Erin Mickey seesawed it back West Burlington's way, 4-3.

Sara Kron's two-out single in the fifth plated Hunter to knot it at 4-all, and that's how it stayed until the seventh.

Hunter and Ciarah Schlader each had two of the Falcons' nine hits.

AT FORT DODGE

West Burlington          102 010 2 -- 6  9  2

Iowa City Regina         202 000 1 -- 5  9  4

Allison Stein, Hannah Stein (4,W) and Kayci McChristy. Kaitlyn Caston (L) and Kelci Hill. HR -- ICR: McChristy.

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