Solon advances to the 3A final

FORT DODGE - The Solon Spartans are back in the finals, but any celebration remains on hold.

'We're not done yet,” pitcher Emily Ira said. '(A state championship) has been our goal all season. We won't celebrate until we accomplish that. We're going to keep fighting.”

Taylor Nearad and Ali Herdliska both collected three hits, and hit a home run apiece, as top-ranked Solon defeated No. 8 Center Point-Urbana, 7-1, in a Class 3A semifinal at the state softball tournament Thursday afternoon at the Rogers Sports Complex.

'It's an amazing feeling and we're really excited, but we want to get it all this time,” Herdliska said.

Solon was the 3A runner-up in 2012 and the 4A second-place squad last year. The Spartans (41-3) will face No. 2 Benton Community (42-3) for the championship at 12:15 Friday afternoon (IPTV).

'Being second twice, it helps with motivation,” said Spartans Coach Jim White. 'It's going to be a great game. We wanted the opportunity to get in there and compete.”

Solon and Benton split a double-header June 10 at Van Horne.

Center Point-Urbana (30-14) played the Spartans to a 1-1 draw through two innings, then Solon struck for three runs (two unearned) in the top of the third. An error set the table, then Herdliska doubled home a pair of runs to break the tie. McKenna Miller added an RBI on a ground-out to make it 4-1.

Nearad doubled home Sydney Lawson in the fourth to extend the lead to 5-1, then a home run by Herdliska and a sacrifice fly by Nicole Oberthein made it 7-1 in the seventh.

'You look at the score and it was 7-1, but we played well. We really did,” said CPU Coach John Olachnovitch. 'But boy, they don't miss any pitches. You get the ball up a little bit, and bang!”

Solon whipped Clarke, 18-0, in three innings in the quarterfinal round, but was pushed to the distance Tuesday.

'After that first one, I think the girls think they need to score 10 every game,” White said. 'When it was 3-1, it seemed too close for them. We were trying to play for one run every inning.”

The Spartans got their first one on a solo shot from Nearad with two outs in the top of the first, her 10th of the season and her second of the tournament.

'I wanted to get a hit and get a rally started,” Nearad said. 'I didn't expect it to go out.”

CPU got even at 1-1 in the bottom of the second. Taylor Henderson singled, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Claire Chandler, and scored on Alyssa Wade's single.

But Ira toughened up after that. She pitched a three-hitter, retiring the final 13 batters she faced.

The Stormin' Pointers face Greene County (31-7) for third place at 11:30 a.m.

Then, at 12:15, it's Solon and Benton for the title.

'We know it's going to be a tough one,” Nearad said. 'We're going to play with everything we have.”

SOLON 7, CENTER POINT-URBANA 1

Class 3A State Semifinal, at Fort Dodge

Solon 103 100 2 - 7 11 0

Center Point-Urbana 010 000 0 - 1 3 1

Emily Ira and Monika Bevans. Samantha Croghan and Elizabeth Hearn. W - Ira (27-2). L - Croghan (18-9). HR - Solon: Taylor Nearad (10), Ali Herdliska (7).

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