Wahlert holds off Xavier for the MVC Mississippi Division softball title

CEDAR RAPIDS — The Xavier Saints prolonged the MVC Mississippi Division softball race to the very last game of the season.

But Dubuque Wahlert wears the crown.

The frighteningly young, Class 3A sixth-ranked Golden Eagles earned the split that they needed, winning the nightcap of Friday’s Mississippi Valley Conference doubleheader, 7-4, at Bob Erusha Field.

Xavier, rated No. 7 in 4A, won the opener, 5-4, and battled back gamely in Game 2, cutting into an early five-run deficit before falling short.

“We battled in both games,” Xavier Coach Nikki Gahring said. “I’m proud of the fight and the determination. It would have been easy to have thrown in the towel in the second game.”

Give a special tip of the cap, pat on the back to junior pitcher Elena Schmit, who logged her first varsity innings of the season.

Schmit entered the game with the Saints (24-11, 13-7 MVC) down 6-1 after two innings. She held Wahlert (28-8, 15-5) to one run in five innings.

“She has dealt with some elbow issues, and she did a hell of a job,” Gahring said. “She threw strikes and let the defense work.”

Those elbow issues are going to require some repair.

“We found out a couple of days ago that it needs surgery,” Schmit said. “They’re going to move a nerve out of the way. Right now, it’s grinding on the bone.”

The Saints got within 7-4 on Alaina Luerkens’ RBI single in the fifth inning. They got the potential tying run to the plate in the fifth and sixth, but couldn’t cash in.

“We never gave up,” Schmit said.

The task was clear when the Saints got to the field Friday. A sweep was required to share the divisional title.

Xavier got the first game by virtue of an effective bunt game. Schmit, Taylor Kadolph and Jaselle Lang each laid down sacrifice bunts, and all were rewarded by reaching base.

That led to a three-run second inning and a 3-1 lead.

Wahlert regained the lead with three runs in the third, thanks to five walks. But Lila Legislador’s RBI triple in the fourth tied it, then Luerkens’ groundout plated Carley Jonker in the fifth.

The Golden Eagles had the bases loaded with no outs in the top of the sixth, but Xavier third baseman Katie Pilcher turned an unassisted lineout/tagout double play to help get the Saints off the hook.

With seven freshmen in the starting lineup, Wahlert did what champions do, responding and striking quickly in Game 2. The Golden Eagles scored four times in the first inning (including Addison Klein’s two-run double).

Then, Ruth Tauber, who reached base seven of nine times Friday, lashed a two-run homer in the second inning for a 6-1 Wahlert advantage.

Jonker was 3 for 4 in the nightcap to lead Xavier, knocking in three runs, two on a third-inning home run that made it 6-3.

Cedar Rapids Xavier 5-4, Dubuque Wahlert 4-7

At C.R. Xavier

Game 1

Dubuque Wahlert 103 000 0 — 4 4 4

C.R. Xavier 030 110 x — 5 8 0

Julia Roth (11-2) and Bailey Welu. Braylen Conlon (12-4), Duanna Coyle (6) and Katie Pilcher, Claire Walter (6). W — Conlon (13-4). L — Roth (11-3). SV — Coyle (1).

Game 2

Dubuque Wahlert 420 010 0 — 7 11 0

C.R. Xavier 102 010 0 — 4 7 3

Anna Roling, Julia Roth (4) and Bailey Welu. Duanna Coyle, Elena Schmit (3) and Claire Walter, Katie Pilcher (3). W — Roth (12-3). L — Coyle (10-6). HR — DW: Ruth Tauber (8), Welu (3); CRX: Carley Jonker (6).

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com