Urbandale foils Jefferson again in state softball quarterfinals

FORT DODGE — Two years, two heartbreaks at the hands of Urbandale.

Third-ranked Cedar Rapids Jefferson missed out on too many scoring opportunities and fell to No. 6 Urbandale, 5-3, in a Class 5A quarterfinal at the state softball tournament Tuesday afternoon at the Rogers Sports Complex.

'I feel like we were kind of pressing,' said Lindsey Culver, who hit her 19th home run early in the game but struck out with two runners aboard in the top of the seventh inning. 'I know I was.'

Urbandale (32-8) advances to face No. 7 Pleasant Valley (33-8) in a semifinal at 1 p.m. Thursday. The Spartans upset No. 2 West Des Moines Valley, 6-4, in nine innings.

Jefferson (38-5) plays two consolation games Wednesday, beginning at noon against Valley (38-5).

'We've just got to flush it and come back strong tomorrow,' Culver said. 'We can't roll over.'

It was the second year in a row that Urbandale edged Jefferson in a high-stakes game. Urbandale prevailed, 5-4, in a 2016 regional final.

This time, though, Jefferson was the favorite. The J-Hawks rallied from a 3-1 deficit to tie the game in the top of the fourth, but were shut out the rest of the way.

'(Urbandale) got the timely hits,' Jefferson Coach Brian Erbe said. 'We had our chances early, and we didn't take advantage of them.'

Culver got the J-Hawks on the board with a solo home run in the top of the third inning.

The solo shot, on a 1-0 count with two outs, tied her for the state lead with Lexy Monty of Davenport West. It also accounted for her 70th RBI, a school record.

But Urbandale struck right back with three runs — two unearned — in the bottom of the third. Two errors played a role in the rally, with Allison Yoder and Jess Walljasper driving in runs with a pair of singles.

Jefferson tied it at 3-3 in the top of the fourth. Erica Oler led off with her ninth home run of the season, then Sydney Briney scored on an error. Briney reached on a single, then raced home from second when Urbandale shortstop Skyler Shellmyer bounced a throw off the bat of Avery Guy.

A two-out rally put Urbandale back in front in the bottom of the fifth. After Allison Yoder singled and Kennady Hill walked, Walljasper delivered an RBI single to center field for a 4-3 Urbandale advantage.

Anna Simon's home run gave Urbandale a big insurance run in the sixth.

The home runs by Culver and Oler sends Jefferson's season-record total to 67 with two games to play.

Jefferson had two on and one out in the seventh before Belle Crow got the better of Culver on a riseball. Kennedy Dighton walked with two out, but Emily Oler grounded out to second to end it.

URBANDALE 5, CEDAR RAPIDS JEFFERSON 3

Class 5A State Quarterfinal, at Fort Dodge

C.R. Jefferson 001 200 0 — 3 7 3

Urbandale 003 011 x — 5 8 2

Erica Oler and Hannah Markham. Bella Crow and Allison Yoder. W — Crow (17-5). L — Oler (19-4). HR — CRJ: Lindsey Culver (19), Oler (9), URB: Anna Simon (3).

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