Mid-Prairie sidesteps Mustangs

KALONA -- Twice, Erika Murphy saw a first-pitch inside fastball. Twice, she let it go.Not a third time.Murphy crushed a two-run home run in the top of the sixth inning to give third-ranked Mid-Prairie some much-needed cushion, and the Golden Hawks defeated Mount Vernon, 4-1, in a Class 3A regional semifinal softball game Friday night at Karr-Vincent-Gould Field."I wasn't going to let (Mustangs pitcher Michaela Martin) get ahead of me again," Murphy said. "The third time, I was ready for it and I took advantage."Mid-Prairie (29-10) is a win away from its fourth straight state-tournament appearance. The final roadblock is Davenport Assumption (20-22), which the Golden Hawks will face in Monday's regional final at Wilton."We all have the same goal. We want the same thing," Murphy said.The Golden Hawks waxed Mount Vernon, 10-0, in a five-inning regular-season contest June 14. This one was more competitive, more dramatic.Mount Vernon (24-15) had the tying run at the plate in the bottom of the seventh, but Mid-Prairie pitcher Olivia Lugar got Miranda Chapman to ground out."Our girls fought the entire way," said Mustangs Coach Robin Brand. "They came out like they were ready to win and they did everything they could to make that possible."Mid-Prairie took the lead for good in the second inning. After back-to-back singles by Amber Kral and Maddie Kaalberg, Mariah Swartzentruber delivered an RBI double to deep center field. An error accounted for another tally as the Golden Hawks went up 2-0.Mount Vernon scored a run in the fourth inning, and probably should have gotten more. The Mustangs had three hits, a walk and benefitted from an error, but had a runner caught stealing and another thrown out after overrunning second base.It remained 2-1 before Murphy's bomb down the left-field line. It was her seventh homer of the season."Absolutely, I felt better after that," said Mid-Prairie Coach Justin Lutjen. "The way Olivia was pitching, and the way our defense was playing, I felt OK at 2-1. But to get some separation, that allowed me to take a breath."The bottom of the seventh started with two web gems by the Golden Hawks.Swartzentruber robbed Lily Dahlstrom with a sliding catch in center -- "It's kind of natural," she said. "I wasn't going to let her get on base, so I charged in and took it."Then Kaalberg, the third baseman, caught a foul pop-up by Alexis Kroeger against the fence.Martin (single) and Libby Ryan (walk) reached, setting the stage for Chapman, who had delivered a three-run homer in the same circumstance last year in a near-upset of Solon."I'm glad I didn't know that," Lutjen said.Swartzentruber reached base all three times she batted, driving in a run and scoring twice.Martin collected two of Mount Vernon's five hits. 

Olivia Lugar and Erika Murphy. Michaela Martin and Hannah Whitley. W -- Lugar (14-6). L -- Martin (5-4). HR -- MP: Murphy (7).

3A Regional Semifinal

R

H

E

Mid-Prairie

0 2 0

0 0 2

--

4

6

2

Mount Vernon

0 0 0

1 0 0

--

1

5

2