The #2 (1A) Clarksville softball team advanced to their ninth regional final in a row, with a 13-1 win in four innings over Janesville in a Class 1A Region 2 semifinal on Saturday.
After a scoreless first, Janesville took their only lead of the game at 1-0 in the second. Clarksville stormed back with six runs in the bottom of the inning to go up 6-1. The Indians kept things rolling at the plate in the third by driving in seven runs to go up 13-1. The Indians ended the game early by the run margin rule in the fourth.
Claire Lodge boosted the offense with eight RBIs, including two grand slams. Paige Kampman and Brooke Bohlen each drove in two runs apiece. Sydney Lovrien had six strikeouts and allowed only one earned run and two hits in four innings.
Clarksville (27-4) will host fellow Iowa Star Conference North foe Riceville in a regional final on Monday. The game will air on 99 The Wave. Head Coach Katie Burman on receiving production top to bottom in the batting order.
“That’s huge. We have six upperclassman that are really just leading the way. Once they’re on, I feel like the rest of the batting lineup kind of follows. Then we have some young girls who are really holding their own this year,” says Burman. “It’s nice to know one through nine in our batting lineup at any time and in any game, could step up and be the leader. They kind of feed off of each other. I think we have a really strong batting lineup and we can hit anybody.”
Riceville (20-13) advanced to the rematch with a 14-3 win over Kee on Saturday. The win avenged an early season 7-0 loss to the Hawks on June 12. Jaylyn Beran leads the team with a .400 avg and 24 RBIs. Lily Fair in the circle has a 2.79 ERA and 109 strikeouts.
This will be the third meeting between the programs this season, Clarksville is 2-0 against the Wildcats with a 9-0 win on May 30 and rallied for a 9-6 win on June 25.
Pregame coverage will begin at 6:40 p.m. followed by the first pitch at 7:00 p.m. The winner will advance to the Class 1A state tournament.
