Olachnovitch is back in the game

John Olachnovitch returned to coaching high school softball partly because his staff came with a popular phrase.No assembly required."I was able to walk in with a staff in place right away. We could hit the ground running," said Olachnovitch, in his first year at Center Point-Urbana after a successful tenure at Linn-Mar from 1992 through 2002.Olachnovitch is an assistant at Mount Mercy University under Larry Yoder. At CPU, their roles are flip-flopped. Two Mustangs players serve as assistants.Monday, Olachnovitch's new crew at CPU (26-14) plays for a Class 3A state-tournament berth against ninth-ranked Monticello (30-6). First pitch is 7 p.m. at Farley.It's one of six regional finals involving area teams. Elsewhere in 3A, No. 3 Mid-Prairie (29-10) goes for its fourth straight state bid against Davenport Assumption (20-22) at Wilton.In Class 2A, North Fayette (29-10) tackles No. 3 Durant (31-8) at Mount Vernon, No. 4 Highland (32-3) meets Iowa City Regina (19-19) at Iowa City West and Alburnett (23-16) faces No. 11 Jesup (27-12) at Waterloo West.Lisbon (26-15) takes on No. 6 Lynnville-Sully (35-5) in a 1A regional final at Williamsburg.Before his tenure at Linn-Mar (he took the Lions to state once, in 1995), Olachnovitch coached at Storm Lake St. Mary's and Storm Lake High. Including this season, he owns a career record of 458-231.Now 61, he spent four years as a pitching coach at UNI after he resigned at Linn-Mar. He's been at Mount Mercy seven years. There, he became acquainted with some of the Stormin' Pointers at the Mustangs' camps."The kids enjoy the game and they're hard workers," he said. "We're not the best hitting team or the best fielding team or the fastest team. But everybody pulls together. We have 17 kids on our varsity roster, and they all have a role. When you've got 17 kids pulling together, you don't need a lot of stars."CPU's 8-2 regional semifinal win over Waterloo Columbus featured a cycle (single, double, triple and home run) by freshman Arika Wooldridge. It also included a triple play.With the bases loaded, a line drive richocheted off third baseman Brittany Buelow, straight to shortstop Shannon Stone, who caught the ball on the fly, tagged out one runner and threw out another."In practice we run a lot of drills with the bases loaded on purpose," Olachnovitch said. "We're pretty young, but they weren't rattled in that situation."Monday, the Stormin' Pointers chase their first trip to state since 1994. They face a Monticello team that has never reached Fort Dodge.The Panthers were Tri-Rivers Conference champions."They've got a really good pitcher in (Erin) Hosch. She has good movement and hits her spots," Olachnovitch said. "And they've got some pretty good hitters." 

MONDAY'S SOFTBALL REGIONAL FINALS

CENTER POINT-URBANA vs. MONTICELLO (Class 3A)

Site & time: At Farley, 7 p.m.

Records & rankings: CPU is 26-14 and unranked; No. 9 Monticello is 30-6.

Notable: Both teams have reached this point in fairly comfortable fashion. Center Point-Urbana's regional-semifinal win over Waterloo Columbus featured a cycle (by Arika Wooldridge) and a triple play. Monticello captured the Tri-Rivers Conference championship, its third straight, in its final year in the league. Pitcher Erin Hosch is 21-5 with a 0.73 ERA while Lael Lubben is the leading hitter at .402. The Panthers are seeking their first trip to state, while CPU hasn't been there since 1994. CPU's Brittany Buelow has 11 home runs; Shannon Stone is the Stormin' Pointers' lone senior and leads the squad in hitting at .376. 

MID-PRAIRIE vs. DAVENPORT ASSUMPTION (Class 3A)

Site & time: At Wilton, 7 p.m.

Records & rankings: Third-rated Mid-Prairie is 29-10; Assumption is 20-22 and unranked.

Notable: Mid-Prairie is a win away from its fourth consecutive state tournament after grinding out a tough 4-1 win over Mount Vernon in the regional semis. Erika Murphy smacked a home run -- her seventh of the season -- to give the Golden Hawks some breathing room. The Golden Hawks are champions of the Cedar Valley Conference. Felicia Schulty is hitting .455 with 46 RBIs while Olivia Lugar (14-6) is the likely pitcher. Assumption's schedule (it plays in the 5A-heavy Mississippi Athletic Conference) is paying dividends; the Knights blanked their first two postseason foes. Assumption has four .400-plus hitters. 

NORTH FAYETTE vs. DURANT (Class 2A)

Site & time: At Mount Vernon, 7 p.m.

Records & rankings: North Fayette is 29-10 and unranked; No. 3 Durant is 31-8.

Notable: Two comfortable wins have North Fayette within a step of its first state tournament since 2004. The Hawks shared the Upper Iowa Conference championship (with Sumner-Fredericksburg) and are led by the prolific bat of Regan Wolverton. The junior has scored 55 runs and has hit seven triples while batting .468. Durant was third at state last year, returning eight starters from that team. Included are Ashli Williams (.516) and Aubrey Bland (.457, 48 RBIs). The Wildcats were runners-up in the Cedar Valley Conference. 

IOWA CITY REGINA vs. HIGHLAND (Class 2A)

Site & time: At Iowa City West, 7 p.m.

Records & rankings: Regina is 19-19 and unranked; No. 4 Highland is 32-3.

Notable: Highland pulled away late from West Branch in its regional semifinal, getting seventh-inning home runs from Morgan Craig and Cheyanne Adamson in a 10-2 victory. The Huskies entered the game with only four home runs, and rely more heavily on speed and defense. Craig leads the team in hitting at .460 while Paige Wieland and Kelsey Hora have more than 30 stolen bases. Sophomore pitcher Katie Springer is 29-2 with 206 strikeouts. Regina is just two years removed from a state championship and is rebuilding around a junior-dominated lineup. Megan Bonnett is batting .413 and is 9-8 as a pitcher. The Regals handled No. 14 Eddyville-Blakesburg, 6-3, in the regional semifinals. 

ALBURNETT vs. JESUP (Class 2A)

Site & time: At Waterloo West, 7 p.m.

Records & rankings: Alburnett is 23-16 and unranked; No. 11 Jesup is 27-12.

Notable: If Alburnett can duplicate its previous outcome against Jesup (a 4-1 win June 22), it will advance to the state tournament for the first time since 2008. These teams are on a bit of a parrallel plane. Both were highly acclaimed coming in the season, then stumbled somewhat around midseason. Alburnett lost 10 of its last 15 regular-season games, but has bounced back and survived against Madrid in the regional semis, 5-4, in eight innings. Mikayla Hand had the game-winning RBI single. Danica Windfield is hitting .418 with 31 RBIs. NICL East Division champion Jesup features the grandfather/granddaughter tandem of Coach John Begley and senior pitcher Kelsey Lough (25-10, 246 strikeouts, .385, 37 RBIs). 

LISBON vs. LYNNVILLE-SULLY (Class 1A)

Site & time: At Williamsburg, 7 p.m.

Records & rankings: Lisbon is 26-15 and unranked; No. 6 Lynnville-Sully is 35-5.

Notable: Lisbon already has dusted two South Iowa Cedar League opponents in the postseason (including No. 13 Sigourney, 9-3, in the regional semifinals), and now the Lions stalk the SICL-champion Hawkettes. Lisbon's offensive attack is extremely balanced, with nobody over .400 but seven players in the .300s. Kelsi Griffiths is hitting .397 with 27 RBIs. Lynnville-Sully is led by a pair of sophomores -- Shelby Davis and Madison Rasmusson are hitting in the .490s and have combined for 110 runs. The Hawkettes outscored their previous two regional foes by a combined margin of 23-0.