I.C. West shows off power once again

By Douglas Miles, The GazetteIOWA CITY - The Women of Troy have brought the big bats to regional play.Fresh off posting double-digit runs and hits in the quarterfinal win over Cedar Rapids Kennedy, Iowa City West's encore was an 18-hit, five-inning rout of crosstown rival Iowa City High, 12-1, in a Class 5A softball regional semifinal last night at City High.“We've got the bats going pretty strong right now, everybody's hitting,” West Coach Barb Lynn said. “It's nice to have that confidence in the kids right now that they can step up the plate and get a hit at any time.”Despite the loss of some talented seniors and a coaching change less than three weeks before opening practices, West (22-19) is a win away from a second straight trip to the state tournament.“Crazy, it's amazing to see how much we've improved throughout the season,” Lynn said.With a 4-1 lead and one out in the top of the fourth inning, West tallied seven straight hits, including back-to-back home runs from sophomore Madi Miller and freshman Adara Opiola. The five-run inning put West up 9-1.“We really got back to hitting the ball so well, we started off great,” said Opiola, who later added a three-run shot and drove in four runs. “Just keeping our heads up, confidence and keeping each other together.”Working with a big lead for the second game in a row, West hurler Jessie Harder (12-10) responded with another strong performance. After her quarterfinal one-hit shutout of Kennedy, the freshman surrendered two runs and four hits against the Little Hawks.“It takes ... a load off of me as a pitcher,” Harder said. “And I thank them so much, they're doing amazing. It's a great team and I love being with them.”Harder induced eight ground-ball outs in the first four innings, then ended her night in style, posting both of her strikeouts in the final frame.Senior Shelby Yoder had an RBI double for City High, which ends at 19-19.“Give them an awful lot of credit, but I'm also so proud of our kids,” Little Hawks Coach Gary Fickel said. “You can't measure the heart and our kids are champions.”West will travel to third-ranked Ottumwa (35-6) for Tuesday's regional final.l Comments: douglas.miles@sourcemedia.net