Miller's single sends Golden Hawks into 2A semifinals

FORT DODGE -- Rachel Miller was aware of Olivia Lugar's discomfort. And she made sure it didn't last any longer than necessary.

Miller singled home Kaitlin Kaalberg in the bottom of the seventh inning to give Mid-Prairie a 4-3 victory over Nodaway Valley in a Class 2A quarterfinal at the state softball tournament Monday evening at the Rogers Sports Complex.

"I could see (Lugar) was kind of falling apart," said Miller, who collected three of the Golden Hawks' 15 hits and drove in three runs.

"I was going to swing at anything close. I just wanted to put an end to this long, hot game."

"Long" was accurate. And "hot" was an understatement. The temperature was 95 degrees at game time; the heat index was a nearly unbearable 119.

Lugar pitched through it, but it wasn't easy. The longer the game lasted, the slower she worked on the mound.

There was no relief. Mid-Prairie's first-base dugout faced into the sun and did not provide any shade.

"I didn't want to sit down or sit out in a game this big," said Lugar, who estimated her water consumption at 15 bottles Monday. "When we were (at bat), I took off my socks and shoes and put my feet in a bucket of water."

Kaalberg opened the seventh with a double down the right-field line, then Miller followed with a hard single up the middle. Kaalberg beat the throw home with relative ease.

Mid-Prairie (24-18) will face No. 5 West Burlington in a semifinal at 5 p.m. Thursday. The Falcons (33-6) edged No. 8 Missouri Valley, 3-2.

Nodaway Valley (21-11) tied the game in the top of the seventh on Paige Jones' RBI single. Maddie Eblen set the table with a triple to right-center.

But the Golden Hawks answered swiftly to end a back-and-forth affair.

Both teams scored in the first inning. Nodaway Valley's run was unearned, then Miller doubled home Kaalberg.

Mid-Prairie took a 2-1 lead in the third on Miller's home run, then the Wolverines got even when Jennifer Beitz tallied on a wild pitch in the fourth.

Mariah Swartzendruber's fifth-inning RBI double gave the Golden Hawks a 3-2 advantage.

"We had 15 hits ... you can't ask for anything more than that," said Mid-Prairie Coach Justin Lutgen.

AT FORT DODGE

Nodaway Valley           100 100 1 -- 3   6  1

Mid-Prairie                     101 010 1 -- 4  15  1

One out when winning run scored.

McKinzie Boes and Maddie Eblen. Olivia Lugar and Erika Murphy. HR -- MP: Rachel Miller.