The North Butler softball team will face a tough road test against #10 (2A) Beckman Catholic in a Class 2A Region 7 semifinal on Saturday. The game was originally scheduled for Friday, but was moved back due to rain.
North Butler (16-11) advanced to the matchup with a 5-1 win over South Winneshiek on Wednesday. It was the sixth time this season the Bearcats held an opponent to one run or less. Kamri Groen against the Warriors pitched a complete game with seven strikeouts and did not allow an earned run. Three different Bearcats are hitting over .300, led by Zoey Thompson with a .419 avg. Izzy O’Dowd leads the team with 18 RBIs. Head Coach Austin Guerrero on what has sparked the offense.
“We have really come alive as a team putting the bat on the ball. That’s been our focus all season long. Myself as a coach, we talk about you got to be productive. When you put the ball in play, you move runners and you do a job, we call it, good things are going to happen. That’s why we have girls batting right around .300 and higher. If you can do that, you have a good chance to put runs on the board. You got to score runs to win games,” says Guerrero. “We know what’s coming forward for us. There’ll be some tough quality matchups. You got to hit the ball and score to help your defense out.”
Beckman Catholic (20-15) advanced with a 7-4 win over Denver on Wednesday. The Trailblazers have a team ERA of 3.98, paced by Hannah Schlichte with a 3.72 ERA and 91 strikeouts. Olivia Tobin-Post has 31 RBIs to lead the team.
This will be the first meeting between programs in the Bound Era.
First pitch will be at 3:00 p.m. in Dyersville. The winner will advance to face Cascade in a regional final on Monday.
