On Friday night, the Mustangs rallied again.

Catelyn Fisher’s line-drive single with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning drove in Emma Pfantz as the game-winning run as East Marshall walked off with a 2-1 victory over Pella Christian (10-9) in the Class 2A Region 4 semifinals.

Trailing 1-0 entering their last-chance at-bat, the Mustangs (15-2) loaded the bases on three-straight singles by Reagan McIlrath, Pfantz and Hannah Birks, and Kennedy Wheater was hit by the next pitch to plate the tying run.

Fisher, who had been 0-for-3 at the plate to that point, came through in the clutch with a line drive that glanced off the outstretched glove of Pella Christian shortstop Natalie Harrill and into left field. Pfantz hopped onto home plate without a play, pushing the Mustangs into the regional finals for the fourth year in a row.

T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE - East Marshall senior pitcher Kodie Hoskey delivers to the plate in the second inning of Friday’s regional softball game in Le Grand. Hoskey struck out 10 to become the school’s all-time leader.

“There was so much pressure on me, I heard everyone screaming and yelling and I was so scared, but I had to do this for my team,” said Fisher, a sophomore. “We deserve this, we work so hard.”

It was eerily reminscent of the Mustangs’ regional semifinal victory over Colfax-Mingo on the same diamond last summer, when a Maria Rasmussen single capped the Mustangs’ three-run rally in the bottom of the seventh for a 3-2 triumph over Colfax-Mingo.

Quiet until the seventh again, East Marshall still managed to complete the comeback.

“I think we just have confidence and we keep building our confidence throughout the season, and we become stronger with these close games,” said Mustang senior pitcher Kodie Hoskey, who on Friday became the school’s career leader in strikeouts.

Even with a senior campaign abbreviated by the coronavirus pandemic, Hoskey managed to surpass Mariah Fritz’s all-time record.On Monday, she’ll get a chance to add to the record when the Mustangs travel to face No. 3 Ogden (18-3) on the Bulldogs’ home diamond.

T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE - Catelyn Fisher (25) drives the game-winning single to left field in the bottom of the seventh inning, plating Emma Pfantz for a 2-1 Mustang victory over Pella Christian.

East Marshall defeated Ogden in last year’s state quarterfinals, 4-0, in Fort Dodge. A return trip to Harlan Rogers Sports Complex will require a win over the same Bulldogs, who didn’t graduate anyone from their roster of a year ago. The Mustangs graduated eight seniors, each of whom played some part in their 32-6 season that ended with a fourth-place finish at state.

“We’re playing good defense and Kodie’s throwing well,” said East Marshall head coach Jary Hoskey. “It’ll take a good team to beat us I think, and they’re a good team, trust me. They’ve been ranked all year long.

“We’ll see what happens.”

It’s an opportunity the Mustangs almost didn’t get the chance to take advantage of, having left eight runners stranded on base in the first six innings. Three of them advanced as far as third, but the key hit never came and some baserunning mistakes proved costly.

Eighth-grader Morgan Neuroth hesistated when coach Hoskey tried to send her home on McIlrath’s flyout to shallow center field in the bottom of the fifth. That was all it took for Pella Christian second baseman Emerson Sarver to get off an accurate throw that beat Neuroth to the plate for a staggering double play.

T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE - Clare Veren, top, leaps in celebration of the Mustangs’ come-from-behind win.

“There’s almost a play every game that’s a learning experience for the younger girls,” McIlrath said. “We’re starting so many young girls so there’s something every game that’s a learning experience for them.”

In the sixth, Wheater reached on an error to start the at-bat and her courtesy runner Clare Veren got to second with two outs. Callyn Curphy’s high hopper to shortstop could have allowed Veren to take off for third before the ball skipped through Harrill’s legs and into left field. Instead the Mustangs missed out on another chance to pull even with Pella Christian, which scored its only run in the top of the first.

Harrill hit a two-out double to the fence in right and scored on Cheyanne Collins’ single up the middle, but the Eagles only got as far as second base once more for the rest of the game. Hoskey piled up 10 strikeouts — she needed five to surpass Fritz’s record — and kept Pella Christian at bay for the remainder.

“Kodie was throwing well and I didn’t think we’d give up another run,” said coach Hoskey, her father. “All we had to do was tie it and then maybe getting the momentum in the seventh if we tied it, we could get it done.

“You’ve got to give [Kodie] credit, she passed one of the all-time legends at East Marshall in Mariah Fritz and that’s a big accomplishment, especially with only pitching 17 games this season. It’s neat and it’s nice to see your daughter be successful.”

T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE

While Hoskey and the error-free Mustang defense behind her led Pella Christian in check for the rest of the game, East Marshall finally capitalized with its last chance. McIlrath pounded a one-out single through the left side, Pfantz blooped a hit to right and Birks dropped a flare down the right-field line. McIlrath’s aggressive baserunning went unrewarded, but it worked out in the end when Wheater was hit by Collins’ next pitch.

Fisher, who played in two games and had only one varsity at-bat as a freshman, made the most of her time in the limelight.

“It’s pretty amazing because I was in the dugout when they were doing this last year and I was like ‘I want to be there one day’ and that’s what I worked over the winter for,” she said. “I feel honored. I wanted to do it for these seniors. It feels good.”

After swinging at a first-pitch changeup from Collins, Fisher settled in for a battle. She fell behind 1-2 before getting a pitch she could hit, lashing it toward left field. With the infield drawn in with hopes of cutting down the game-winning run at the plate, Harrill nearly came up with a leaping grab that likely would have resulted in an inning-ending double play.

“I did (watch it) actually,” Fisher said of her hit. “I saw her tip it and go right over her heard. Hallelujah, that’s all I was thinking.”

T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE

“Cate came through with a big hit, I’m happy for her and happy for the team and those seniors,” coach Hoskey said. “This is four years in a row we went to the regional final and we’ve only kicked the door in once, so let’s kick the door in again.”

Hoskey threw a four-hit shutout to help beat Ogden in last year’s state quarterfinals, and it’s a performance she’ll likely need to match to help this rendition of the Mustangs move on to Fort Dodge. She walked one (intentionally) and struck out 10 in Friday’s win over the Eagles.

“We’re lucky to even have a season so we’ve got to be smart and I think we’ve never taken that for granted, we’re lucky to play every game,” she said. “[The strikeout record] means a lot because just getting to this season, I didn’t think I was going to get to play and that’s always been in the back of my mind.

“Hard work pays off, it really does. It’s an awesome feeling, and the win is the cherry on top.”

——

T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE

East Marshall 2, Pella Christian 1

At Le Grand

PC 100 000 0 — 1 6 3

EM 000 000 2 — 2 7 0

Cheyanne Collins and Sydney Nunnikhoven; Kodie Hoskey and Kennedy Wheater. W–Hoskey (15-2). L–Collins (9-5). 2B–PC: Chloe Morgan, Natalie Harrill. LOB–PC 4, EM 11.

T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE

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