BEAMAN — The BCLUW baseball team held off South Hamilton’s last gasp attempt and triumphed 2-1 over the Hawks in Monday’s Class 1A District 5 first-round baseball game that was moved to Beaman because of unplayable field conditions in Jewell.

The Comets (8-12), playing as the visitors on their own diamond, scored solo runs in the second and third innings and held on as South Hamilton (10-11) cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the seventh.

Owen Myers pitched all seven innings for the Comets, allowing a run on four hits and seven total walks while striking out six.

Cael Keller led BCLUW at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a run scored. Logan Scafferi singled and scored a run as well. Calvin Zoske was 1-for-2 with a double and two walks, while Ryan Busch, Hayden Schleisman and Myers each contributed a single.

South Hamilton pitchers Ryland Ubben, Braden Young and Prestin Van De Pol combined to strike out 14 Comets while issuing only two walks, but the Hawks couldn’t come up with the clutch hits. Ubben was 2-for-3 with a run scored to lead the team.

West Marshall outlasts Cadets in regional preview

STATE CENTER — The Class 3A No. 14 West Marshall softball team used a five-run sixth inning to break open a close game and beat Iowa Falls-Alden 11-6 in Monday’s regular-season finale and preseason preview.

The Trojans (22-8) will host the Cadets (8-16) in Thursday’s Region 5 opener at 7 p.m. in State Center.

In Monday’s preview, West Marshall led 6-2 after four innings before Iowa Falls-Alden added two runs in the top of the sixth. The Trojans responded in kind, piling up some insurance runs to put the game away.

Aubree Greenwood pitched two innings for the win and also homered to lead West Marshall to victory. She was 1-for-2 with two walks, two runs scored and two RBIs, and in the circle she gave up two runs — one earned — on one hit while striking out four.

Amelia Ranson was 2-fro-3 with a triple, two runs scored and two RBIs, while Riley Randall was 2-for-3 with three RBIs. Jenna Randall and Josie deNeui both had two hits, an RBI and a run scored. Brooke Hilleman added a double and scored a run.

Jillian Karsjen was 1-for-3 with two runs scored, and Lillian Fischer also scored twice. Lily Zahnd added a single as the Trojans tallied 12 hits in the win.

Cidni Phipps was 2-for-2 with a home run, two walks, two runs and two RBIs to lead Iowa Falls-Alden.

Spartans stomp South Hamilton in regional play

JEWELL — The Grundy Center softball team advanced through the first round of Class 2A Region 6 play with a 9-4 triumph over South Hamilton on Monday night.

The Spartans (11-17) smacked 17 hits in the win, led by Lucy Lebo, Kyndra Dieken and Evelyn Geerdes with three apiece. Leby was 3-for-5 with a double, an RBI and a run scored, while Dieken was 3-for-4 with an RBI. Geerdes finished 3-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored.

Carlie Willis went 2-for-5 with a double, a run and two RBIs, and Allison Koch was 1-for-3 with a run and two RBIs.

Every batter in the Grundy Center lineup had at least one hit.

Maddy Hendershot benefitted from all the offense, pitching 6 1/3 innings for the win. She allowed four runs on eight hits and six walks but struck out 11. Ava Mundt walked a batter but got the final two outs for the Spartans.

Grundy Center advances to face second-ranked Alburnett in Wednesday’s regional quarterfinals in Alburnett.