State softball: Capsules of area teams

FORT DODGE — Capsules for the eight Gazette-area teams that have qualified for the state softball tournament this week at the Rogers Sports Complex:

CLASS 5A

No. 3 CEDAR RAPIDS JEFFERSON (35-7)

* Coach — Brian Erbe (3rd year at Jefferson, 103-27; 13th year overall, 427-177)

* Tournament history — 22nd appearance, and third in a row. J-Hawks were state champions in 1983, 1997 and 1998.

* Top hitters — Jefferson has the state's most prolific home-run team, with 45 long balls. Maddie Hansen (sr.) is the ringleader at .504 with 11 home runs with 46 RBIs, and has walked 30 times. Hannah Towns (sr.) is hitting .492 with eight home runs. Avery Guy (soph., .478) is the J-Hawks' leading run-scorer with 53. Erin Kuba (jr.) is hitting .468 with just one strikeout in 94 at bats.

* Top pitchers — Alyssa Olson (sr.) and Alissa Good (sr.) form a dynamite duo, with records of 18-4 and 16-2, respectively. Olson sports a 1.32 ERA with 161 strikeouts, and Good's ERA is 1.60.

* First-round opponent — J-Hawks face Linn-Mar (25-17) at 3:30 p.m. Monday.

LINN-MAR (25-17)

* Coach — John Begley (2nd year at Linn-Mar, 52-31; 21st year overall, 624-340)

* Tournament history — 7th appearance, and its first since 2008. Lions were state runners-up in 2006.

* Top hitters — At .420, Elison Ollinger (soph.) swings the biggest bat. She has a team-high 33 RBIs with 12 doubles and eight triples. Ally Johnson (fr.) is next at .396 and leads the Lions with 42 runs.

* Top pitchers — Maddy Ryan (sr.) is effective, if not overpowering. She has compiled a 19-10 record and 2.26 ERA. Morgan Braughton (soph.) is 6-7 with a 4.02 ERA.

* First-round opponent — Lions face No. 3 Jefferson (35-7) at 3:30 p.m. Monday.

* * * * *

CLASS 3A

No. 1 SOLON (39-3)

* Coach — Jim White (3rd year at Solon, 119-10; 21st year overall, 928-128)

* Tournament history — 12th appearance, and 5th in a row. Spartans won state championships in 2003 and 2007.

* Top hitters — Five Spartans are hitting better than .450. Emily Ira (sr.) is tops on the squad in average at .615, and Sydney Lawson (jr., .563) leads the state in runs, with 77. Taylor Nearad (sr.) is hitting .524 with 66 RBIs, Other key batters are Ali Herdliska (sr., .518) and Monika Bevans (jr., .452, 52 RBIs).

* Top pitchers — Ira owns a 25-2 mark and a 0.50 ERA, fanning 338 batters (third most in the state) against 31 walks in 168 innings of work. McKenna Miller (soph.) is 14-1 with a 1.30 ERA.

* First-round opponent — Spartans face defending-champion Clarke (20-17) at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.

No. 2 BENTON COMMUNITY (40-3)

* Coach — Eric Stenberg (2nd year, 77-8)

* Tournament history — 14th appearance, but its first since 1998, when it won the 2A state title. Also won a championship in 1966.

* Top hitters — Alyssa Wiebel (jr.) spearheads the attack at .594. She leads the state with 19 home runs, and also ranks in the top five statewide in runs (60) and RBIs (64). Shelby Hulsebus (fr.) is hitting .410 with 46 runs.

* Top pitchers — Amber Fiser (jr.) is 24-1 with a 0.05 ERA and 286 strikeouts (against 23 walks) in 152 2/3 innings. She has yielded only six runs total. Wiebel is 12-1 with a 2.40 ERA.

* First-round opponent — Bobcats face No. 13 Mount Vernon (29-9) at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

No. 8 CENTER POINT-URBANA (29-13)

* Coach — John Olachnovitch (3rd year, 84-37; overall, 481-243)

* Tournament history — 3rd appearance. Stormin' Pointers were sixth in 3A last year. Center Point made two appearances, Urbana three.

* Top hitters — Maddie Karr (fr.) has hit 16 home runs this season, and also leads the team with a .440 average, 53 runs and 54 RBIs. Megan Croghan (soph.) is hitting .421 with 40 RBIs.

* Top pitchers — Samantha Croghan (sr.) is 17-8 with a 2.08 ERA. Bailey Smith (soph.) is 12-5 with an ERA of 2.89. The duo has combined for just 21 walks in 255 innings.

* First-round opponent — Stormin' Pointers face No. 7 Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley (31-3) at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.

No. 13 MOUNT VERNON (29-9)

* Coach — Robin Brand (4th year at Mount Vernon, 94-59)

* Tournament history — 3rd appearance. Mustangs qualified in 2009 and 2010.

* Top hitters — A balanced lineup has different leaders in average (Mikaela Lengwin, sr., .439), runs (Sammy Moss, 8th, 39) and RBIs (Libby Ryan, soph., 27). All of them are hitting .400-plus, as is Alyssa Maddocks (soph.).

* Top pitchers — Lily Dahlstrom (jr.) is 16-5 with a 2.32 ERA. Marissa Roe (jr.) is 10-4 with a 4.56 ERA.

* First-round opponent — Mustangs face No. 2 Benton Community (40-3) at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

* * * * *

CLASS 2A

No. 10 IOWA CITY REGINA (23-14)

* Coach — Jon Prottsman (8th year at Regina, 197-148; 15th year overall, 389-227)

* Tournament history — 5th appearance. Regals were 2A state champions in 2011.

* Top hitters — Kennedy Brown (jr.) is a combination of speed and power. She's hitting .463 with 43 runs and 40 RBIs. She has 12 home runs and 24 stolen bases. Madison Scott (sr.) is batting .394.

* Top pitcher — Sarah Lehman (soph.) is 14-8 with a 1.12 ERA. She has struck out 207 batters and walked 42 in 156 1/3 innings.

* First-round opponent — Regals face No. 8 Durant (27-8) at 3 p.m. Tuesday.

No. 14 CASCADE (22-10)

* Coach — Ken Weber (4th year, 86-50)

* Tournament history — 2nd appearance. Other was in 1994.

* Top hitters — Lexi Weber (sr.) is hitting .476 with 17 doubles and 34 RBIs. Lynsey Dolphin (jr.) is batting .337 with a team-high 35 runs and 19 stolen bases.

* Top pitchers — Dolphin and Laura Kremer (soph.) both are 10-4. Dolphin's ERA is 1.96; Kremer is at 3.49.

* First-round opponent — Cougars face No. 5 North Union (33-9) at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

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