East Marshall softball easily handled Carroll Kuemper, 9-1, in a Class 2A Region 4 semifinal on Friday at East Marshall High School.

The Mustangs (31-4), ranked sixth in 2A, will host Ogden in the regional final on Monday with a spot in the state tournament on the line.

“We’ve got a shot, and we’ve got it at home,” East Marshall head coach Jary Hoskey said. “We play pretty tough at home — we’re playing very good defense and Morgan [Neuroth] has been throwing the ball well.”

The Knights had a hard time cracking Neuroth in the circle on Friday, scattering just three hits off the DMACC recruit, with two of those hits coming in the seventh inning. Neuroth struck out 10 Kuemper batters and walked none.

T-R PHOTO BY JAKE RYDER - Carroll Kuemper’s Ally Sommerfeld, far left, walks off the field after making the final out as East Marshall players (from left) Rayne McIlrath, Morgan Neuroth and Bailey Grant celebrate their 9-1 win over the Knights on Friday night in Le Grand.

“I was hitting my spots, getting ahead in the count, and just having confidence the whole time,” Neuroth said. “And I wanted to make sure that confidence was showing because I feel like that’s intimidating to a lot of people, to show that we’re the better team, and we made that known tonight. We scored right away to set the tone of the game and our defense played really good behind me.”

East Marshall scored three runs in each of the first two innings, with four of those six runs coming on wild pitches or passed balls as the Mustangs streaked around the bases.

Neuroth was 2-for-4 with three runs scored; Rayne McIlrath knocked in a pair of runs and Bailey Grant was 2-for-4 with an RBI; Ashtyn Wheater added an RBI — every member of the starting nine for the Mustangs either scored a run or helped a run score. East Marshall went up 9-1 after four innings and coasted the rest of the way.

“We faced a better pitcher tonight than we’ve seen in a while and we just did well to hit the ball hard, run the bases aggressively,” Neuroth said.

East Marshall did not take the moment for granted, exploding in celebration after the final out was recorded.

T-R PHOTO BY JAKE RYDER - East Marshall senior Makayla Kerber, bottom right, scores on a wild pitch in the second inning of Friday’s regional semifinal softball game in Le Grand. Carroll Kuemper pitcher Myli Schaefer (17) defends on the play.

It’s the second regional final appearance in the last three years for the Mustangs — Regina defeated East Marshall, 1-0, in 2022.

“It’s super exciting — it always has been, it always will be,” Neuroth said. “This is one of the best times of the season.”

Ogden (16-18) upended No. 7 Iowa City Regina, 3-2, on Friday. East Marshall and Ogden last met in the 2019 state quarterfinals, a game East Marshall won, 4-0. A 2020 regional final rematch never occurred when East Marshall had to forfeit the game due to a COVID-19 exposure guidelines that were in place for the 2020 season.

It’s a big moment for the Mustang seniors — Neuroth, McIlrath, Ava Bringmann and Makayla Kerber — a moment the Mustangs don’t want to get lost in.

“We have to keep calm and just play our game,” Neuroth said. “It’s just another game, we just have to keep it rolling so we can get to state.”