Heick Homers and Solon Never Trails in Semifinal Win Over PCM
Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sports
SOLON – Throughout the course of the regular season Solon grew accustom to coming from behind to win games.
In Friday’s Class 3A Region 7 semifinal the Spartans used an unfamiliar route to return to a well-known destination
Sixth-ranked Solon scored four runs in the fourth inning and never trailed in a 6-4 win over PCM (17-13) that returned the Spartans to the regional finals for the fifth straight season under head coach Jim White.
“In a majority of our games we have come from behind so honestly starting on top was a different feel for us,” Solon senior Jess Heick said. “We know we can come back if we have to but getting an early lead was a great feeling.”
Heick gave Solon (30-12) a rare early lead it would never give up on Friday.
The senior catcher slugged a two-run home run in the four-run Solon fourth inning that proved to be enough for freshman Kayla West.
West gave up a three-run home run to Jaiden Rogers in the fifth and an unearned run in the seventh but Solon held on for its fourth straight win.
Solon (30-12) will seek its seventh consecutive state tournament appearance when it hosts ninth-ranked Albia (27-8) in the Region 7 title game on Monday at 7 p.m.
“This was the seventh game now this that we haven’t been behind,” White said. “It’s just mind-boggling how many games we have trailed in.”
Against PCM, Solon was in control from the beginning.
Heick broke a scoreless tie with her team-leading ninth home run in the fourth, an opposite field line drive that came after Taylor Ryan laced a leadoff double to open the inning.
It was the second home run in as many postseason games for Heick who homered in an 11-1 quarterfinal win over Mid-Prairie on Wednesday.
“Honestly wherever it’s at, even with inside pitches I tend to still go to leftfield, it doesn’t make a lot of sense but it happens,” Heick said of her home run. “I just went up trying to find a way on base and it just happened to go over.”
Solon tacked on to its early lead with three straight two-out hits.
Taylor Moore started the two-out rally with a single and scored on a Tara Lance double.
Lance came around to score on an RBI single by freshman first baseman Jadyn Jeter.
“Our offense has been coming on off late,” White said. “(Jeter) has really picked us up lately.”
Solon added insurance in the fifth on an RBI double by McKenna Miller and an RBI groundout by Taylor Moore that made the score 6-0.
“I had confidence we would get some runs, we usually get going once we go through the lineup and get used to the pitcher,” West said. “That was very important because we are usually coming from behind so it was really important to be on top in the postseason and that’s really what we wanted to do.”
PCM got back into the game on the three-run blast from Rogers in the fifth inning.
The Mustangs put the tying run on first with two outs in the seventh but West got Abby Waddell to line out to Rogers at third base to end the game.
“We’ve been scoring runs and defensively we have finally been making more plays,” White said. “I can’t say I was resting easy over here in that last inning but we’ve been making plays.”
West allowed four unearned runs on five hits while striking out two and walking one.
“I just wanted to do the best I could for my team, I didn’t want to let them down,” West said. “I worked really hard to get my pitches in the right spot and pitch as hard as I could.”
Seven different Spartans had a hit as Solon finished with 11 hits.
Ryan, Heick, Miller and Jeter all had two hits each while Jeter, Lance, Miller, Rogers and Heick all drove in runs.
Solon 000 420 0 – 6 11 2
PCM 000 030 1 – 4 5 1
W – Kayla West L – Kayla Jennings
2B – SOL: Tara Lance, Taylor Ryan, McKenna Miller. PCM: Anna Shaver
HR – SOL: Jess Heick. PCM: Jaiden Rogers