CCA grounds Hawks in 5 innings

FORT DODGE -- Same first-round matchup. Same winner.But a much different path to victory. A much easier path.Top-ranked Clear Creek Amana jumped on West Delaware with five runs in the second inning and dusted the Hawks, 10-0, in a five-inning Class 4A quarterfinal at the state softball tournament Tuesday afternoon at the Rogers Sports Complex."We are really determined," said leadoff hitter Fran Strub, who drove in four runs  -- including a two-run home run in the fifth inning. "One of our goals was to come out here and show why we're here."That, precisely, is to capture state title No. 11. The Clippers (42-1) face No. 4 Indianola (29-11) in a semifinal at 5 p.m. Thursday.Last year's 3A title run included a come-from-behind, extra-inning win over West Delaware in the quarterfinals. No late-game heroics were necessary this time around.Five straight Clippers reached base in the top of the second. Jazmyne Neely scored on a wild pitch, Strub poked a two-run single, then Mariah McKinnon and Maliah Fligg added RBI hits.The Clippers finished with 11 hits. Some came from the top of the order (Strub had two, Mariah McKinnon three). Some came from near the bottom: No. 8 batter Mallory Neubauer was 3-for-3 and scored twice."I wanted to come out and hit it hard. See the ball and hit it," Neubauer said.West Delaware pitched Hannah Cole said, "They hit very, very well. No doubt about it. Their whole lineup can hit. Certain people, you want to jam them or make them reach. They can hit, then can pitch, they can field."The Hawks (30-11) face Winterset (29-14) in a consolation game at noon Wednesday, with a fifth- or seventh-place game at 4 p.m.Neely scored on another wild pitch in the third to make it 6-0, then CCA put it away with four tallies in the fifth. Strub's homer to right field made it 9-0, then Fligg got the Clippers to the 10-run margin with an RBI ground-out.Fligg limited the Hawks to two hits.Strub mentioned the Clippers' determination. CCA Coach Jim White elaborated on that."Everybody is trying to take something from us," he said. "The girls know they've got to be warriors."

Maliah Fligg and Cassie Downes. Hannah Cole and Alyssa McDowell. W -- Fligg (26-1). L -- Cole (27-8). HR -- CCA: Fran Strub (6).

4A State Quarterfinal

R

H

E

Clear Creek Amana

0 5 1

0 4

--

10

11

West Delaware

0 0 0

0 0

--

2

3