March 28, 2024

Roadrunners rally to advance to state

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URBANDALE — Leading 1-0 with two strikes and two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, Interstate 35 was one play away from its first trip to the state softball tournament since 2005.

But the celebration was put on hold.

Madrid’s Mariesa Maceda roped a line drive into left field that was mishandled, allowing teammate Jordyn Achenbach to tie the game 1-1 and extend the Class 2A Region 7 Final into the eighth inning.

“She (Maceda) is a scrappy hitter and she is not a true lefty, we turned her into that this year,” said Madrid head coach Whitney Boaz. “I told her to put the ball in play and make them make a play … if they make the play and get the out, that is how you want to go down, you don’t want to go down striking out.”

Maceda advanced to second on the play, but the Roadrunners eliminated the threat with a fly out to send the game into extra innings.

“In the seventh inning, we were one pitch away … It would have been easy to quit right there,” said I-35 head coach Tim Bogs. “We knew that if we got good swings, we would be OK.”

The Roadrunner offense was shorthanded with its third and fourth batters out of the lineup. Designated player Lily Miller was out of the state with a travel team and third baseman Riley Morris suffered a broken hand in Friday’s Region 7 semifinal victory against Van Meter.

Morris had a successful surgery Monday, but will miss the remainder of the season.

“We work pretty hard on swinging the bat,” Bogs said. “The only thing we continue to talk about is if the pitcher is throwing outside, we need to hit it to the outside.”

I-35 found an offensive spark after Kate Stanley drew a walk and Slye Richardson took a pitch off the helmet to get on base for the Roadrunners in the eighth inning. With two outs, Shai Major drove a pitch into right center field, for the eventual game-winning RBI, 3-1.

Carlyn Stanley picked up the victory from the circle for I-35, striking out nine Madrid batters. The Roadrunners improved to 25-7 for the season.

“I was so proud of everybody,” Carlyn Stanley said. “I knew when that ball (the final out) went up in the air my teammates were behind me.”

The victory sets up a matchup with Fort Dodge St. Edmond in the first round of the State Softball Tournament Tuesday, July 11 at 1 p.m. Harlan Rogers Sports Complex in Fort Dodge. Fort Dodge St. Edmond (25-7) is ranked first in the final Class 2A state softball poll.

Defensive battle

Both teams struggled to convert with runners on base in the contest. Each team had an unsuccessful sacrifice bunt attempt and a base running error that resulted in an out.

Carlyn Stanley also allowed an uncharacteristic four walks. She has given up 51 walks this season compared to 287 strikeouts.

“I had to keep it in my mind that we could do it,” Stanley said. “We kept picking each other up and it was a great game.”

Bogs said the goal was to work ahead of batters and go for strikeouts with Stanley’s rise ball, but late in the game, their strategy shifted to mainly fastballs and relying on the Roadrunner defense to make plays.

“They earned it and that is what good teams do,” Boaz said. “They have really good hitters … we were trying to get them to hit pitches that we wanted them to hit to get ground ball and fly ball outs.”

In the third inning, Carlyn Stanley singled with two outs. Allyson Young came on as a courtesy runner and scored on a double by Kate Stanley to put the Roadrunners up 1-0.

Madrid threatened to score with two runners on in the fourth, but during a ground ball, Brittany Richards collided with I-35’s Richardson and was called for interference.

“I would take anything for this team, even if it is a couple knockdowns,” Richardson said.

Bogs said the game was a true test of each player stepping up into her role on the team.

Madrid finishes the year with a record of 17-14.