Lights out for Lady Spartans

FORT DODGE -- First, the lights went out.

Next, Solon's defense malfunctioned.

Fifth-ranked Winterset scored a pair of unearned runs in the fifth inning, then four more in the sixth to race past No. 4 Solon, 7-2, in a Class 3A quarterfinal at the state softball tournament Tuesday night at the Rogers Sports Complex.

"We just had a couple miscues," said Solon Coach Ben Sorden. "That's all. It's part of the game."

Solon (34-8) appeared to be sailing, taking a 2-0 lead on eighth-grader Ali Herdliska's single and a Winterset error in the bottom of the third inning.

The power went out in the fourth inning, a complex-wide outage that lasted more than 20 minutes.

After the lights came back on, the Huskies (31-10) took advantage of defensive miscues galore.

The Lady Spartans erred twice to start the fifth, then Sami Nicholson tied the game with a two-run double.

Two more Solon errors triggered Winterset's rally in the sixth. Jessica Eyerly broke the tie with a single, then Karly Olson broke it open with a two-run single. Casey Mohs' hit plated another run to make it 6-2.

"You have to give credit where credit is due," Sorden said. "(Winterset) hit the ball.

"The most dangerous team is a team on a rally. Sometimes, no matter what you throw, they're going to hit it."

Sorden changed pitchers twice -- Arran Weeces to Holly Hinkel, then back to Weeces -- during the sixth-inning onslaught.

Taylor Benshoof's double in the seventh accounted for the Huskies' final run.

Mohs had four of Winterset's 13 hits.

Winterset will face No. 1 Carlisle (38-2) in a semifinal at 3:30 p.m. Thursday. Down 4-1 headed to the bottom of the seventh, Carlisle rallied to beat Sioux City Heelan, 5-4, in eight innings.

Solon meets Heelan (26-9) in a consolation semifinal at noon Wednesday, then plays in the fifth- or seventh-place game at 4 p.m.

AT FORT DODGE

Winterset         000 024 1 -- 7  13  1

Solon                   002 000 0 -- 2  5  4

Karly Olson (W), Mari Silliman (6, SV) and Casey Mohs. Arran Weeces (L), Holly Hinkel (6), Weeces (6) and Rachel Stewart.