Big 7th inning enables City High to split with Xavier

CEDAR RAPIDS — After surrendering the lead and preparing for its final at-bat, Iowa City High found itself at a crossroads.

'We could do one of two things,' Coach Jeff Koenig said. 'We could do what City High teams of old have done, or we could buckle down and come back.'

They buckled down, and boy, did they come back.

The Little Hawks erupted with seven runs in the top of the seventh inning, won the nightcap 11-8, and earned a Mississippi Valley Conference softball double-header split with Class 4A 15th-rated Cedar Rapids Xavier on Thursday at Bob Erusha Field.

'We're here to show people that we're not like the City High teams in the past,' said Brianna Bentler, who as a sophomore, is one of the veterans of this up-and-coming program. 'We're here to compete and prove a point.'

As the MVC slate approaches the midpoint, City High (9-8 overall, 9-3 MVC) stands in a first-place tie in the Valley Division with Cedar Rapids Kennedy and Dubuque Hempstead, who split a twinbill Thursday in Dubuque.

After a 19-19 season in 2013, the Little Hawks' composite ledger for the next three seasons was 28-86.

'This surprises me a little, but not fully,' said Koenig, who coached this year's eighth-graders (three of which started Thursday) at the youth level, and is in his third year as the varsity coach. 'They believe in themselves, and they've put in a lot of time in the weightroom.'

Xavier (7-8, 6-6) dominated the opener, 10-0, in a five-inning verdict behind Maria Steffen's one-hitter. Hannah Williams, Hannah Helms, Cassie Himmelsbach, Keera Ball and Olivia Richards all smacked a two-run double apiece.

'We were seeing the ball well and were in good attack mode, and Maria was sharp. She was hitting her spots,' Xavier Coach Nikki Gahring said.

Game 2 was a back-and-forth affair, with Xavier scoring three times in the bottom of the sixth for a 5-4 edge.

But City High collected eight hits in the top of the seventh (highlighted by two-run doubles by Carey Koenig and Bentler), then held off the Saints in the bottom of the frame.

CEDAR RAPIDS XAVIER 10-8, IOWA CITY HIGH 0-11 (1st, 5)

At C.R. Xavier

Game 1

Iowa City High 000 00 — 0 1 2

C.R. Xavier 060 4x — 10 11 0

Gabrielle Hiatt and Jayden Young. Maria Steffen and Charli Patten. W — Steffen (6-2). L — Hiatt (1-1).

Game 2

Iowa City High 011 101 7 — 11 14 5

C.R. Xavier 101 003 3 — 8 8 2

Ayana Lindsey and Carey Koenig. Maria Steffen, Ellie Malecek (4) and Cassie Himmelsbach. W — Lindsey (5-4). L — Malecek (1-6). HR — ICH: Ella Cook (3), Brianna Bentler (2), Brooke Bormann (1).

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com