Dahlstrom meets challenge

MOUNT VERNON - Trouble came calling early and often for the Mount Vernon Mustangs Friday night. But each time, pitcher Lily Dahlstrom fended it off. Then she shut it down.

The sophomore stranded seven Anamosa base runners through the first four innings, then retired 11 of the final 12 batters as No. 12 Mount Vernon eliminated the Blue Raiders, 1-0, in a Class 3A softball regional semifinal.

'As a pitcher, it's really easy for me to just get in there and play my game when I know that I've got my team behind me,” said Dahlstrom, who scattered six hits, walked two and struck out three for her fifth shutout this season. 'They've been great this year. I can just count on them all the time.”

Mount Vernon (29-9) will play sixth-ranked Center Point-Urbana (27-9) Monday at Cedar Rapids Jefferson for a berth in the state tournament - lofty heights for a team that struggled out of the gate at 6-5 only to win 23 of its last 27.

'This is a very solid team,” Mount Vernon Coach Robin Brand said. 'One of the best things about them is they play together all the time and they play for each other. I've never had a team that's had such great camaraderie. They have each other's back all the time.”

Perhaps no better example of that unity lies in the emergence of sophomore catcher Annie See. She was all set to back up a returning second team all-state catcher in Hannah Whitley, only to have Whitley lose the season to a knee injury sustained playing basketball.

'She's a great supporter, (and) she's always helping me at practices,” See said. 'She's always positive and it helps me a lot.”

See stepped to the plate and provided the game's lone run with a two-strike home run over the left-field fence - her first this season.

'Honestly, I was just trying to make contact with the ball,” said See, who had two of the team's five hits.

Freshman Madyson Koob had a pair of singles for Anamosa, which ends its season at 17-12.