For much of the game, the winless Comets were on track to pull an upset over their Class 4A counterparts. Leading 2-0 after three innings, 2-1 after four and 3-2 after six, BCLUW’s youthful team had the game in its hands before a late Marshalltown surge made the difference in a 7-4 victory in eight innings for the Bobcats (2-8).

That in itself is a sign of how much the team has progressed despite the rocky start to the season, head coach Megan Yantis said.

“We’ve had a rocky start and we’re young,” Yantis said. “We’ve been learning every game, and I felt like we applied every single thing that we’ve learned this season to this game and it was just fun to see. The energy was good.”

The game started with two scoreless innings as Marshalltown’s Kailee Pollard and BCLUW’s Katie Hill were in good form. Neither team had much of anything going until the bottom of the third, when BCLUW broke the deadlock and scored two runs. Marissa Grant and Raegan Crawford scored as courtesy runners for the Comets, with Maleah Jones and Cassie Nason driving them in.

T-R PHOTO BY NOAH ROHLFING - BCLUW’s Morgan Bergman (40) greets Cassie Nason outside the dugout after Nason scored a run to give the Comets a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning of Friday’s game against Marshalltown in the Dave Lee Classic in Conrad.

It was at this point that Marshalltown coach Jim Palmer made a pitching change — swapping out Pollard for junior Avery Mull. Palmer said he had both pitchers ready before the game just in case, and was confident she could pull through with a strong relief outing.

“They know they need to be ready to go and to compete,” Palmer said. “Avery stepped right in and did what she needed to do.”

Mull gave up one hit, one walk and one run in 6 1/3 innings of work, striking out four batters.

The Bobcats slowly worked their way back in, scoring one run in the top of the fourth and one run in the top of the fifth to tie things up at 2-2. Reagan Ford reached in the fourth on a hit by Khloe Shipley (one of three on the night for Shipley) and Emma McWherter touched home in the fifth on a Kailee Pollard ground-out. Hill continued to keep the Bobcats from pulling ahead.

In the bottom of the sixth, BCLUW had the breakthrough on a single from Maliah Gunderson to drive home Nason. Eden Wilson also helped push Nason into scoring position. BCLUW had four hits on the night while Marshalltown had nine.

T-R PHOTO BY NOAH ROHLFING

Marshalltown had its backs against the wall, as the first two batters of the inning were outs. But Pollard got on base with a double, setting the table for Mull. Mull cracked a triple, driving home pinch runner McKenna Coleman to tie the game. Mull had two hits and one RBI.

After sitting down BCLUW in order to end the seventh, the Bobcats broke open the game in extras. Kennedy Feldman scored on a passed ball, while Olivia Holmgren and Autumn Finch were driven in by McWherter. Pinch runner Karsyn Price scored on a passed ball to end a clutch inning of batting from the Bobcats.

BCLUW scored once in the bottom of the inning but didn’t threaten to tie the game up.

Today BCLUW takes on Sumner-Fredericksburg at 10 a.m. while Marshalltown’s first game is at 11:45 a.m. against Ames. BCLUW will face Cedar Falls in the 1:30 p.m. game, and Marshalltown meets Gilbert at 3:15 p.m.

2021 Dave Lee Classic

T-R PHOTO BY NOAH ROHLFING

Friday’s Scores

Gilbert 12, Sumner-Fredericksburg 4

Cedar Falls 5, Ames 1

Marshalltown 7, BCLUW 4, 8 innings

South Hardin 4, Central DeWitt 2

Saturday’s Games

10 a.m. — Sumner-Fredericksburg vs. BCLUW (HS Diamond); Cedar Falls vs. South Hardin (Rec Diamond)

11:45 a.m. — Marshalltown vs. Ames (HS); Gilbert vs. Central DeWitt (Rec)

1:30 p.m. — Cedar Falls vs. BCLUW (HS); Sumner-Fredericksburg vs. South Hardin (Rec)

3:15 p.m. — Marshalltown vs. Gilbert (HS); Central DeWitt vs. Ames (Rec)