Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

FORT DODGE – Entering the sixth inning of Thursday’s Class 2A state semifinal Regina coach on Prottsman suddenly felt like he was watching a replay.

Regina led Durant 1-0 after five innings on Thursday just like it did in a River Valley Conference regular season meeting last month.

In both games Regina ace Sarah Lehman was cruising through five innings and Durant had the heart of its order due up in the sixth.

Durant won the regular season meeting on a two-run home run by Cathy Ralfs in the sixth inning but Regina and Lehman had the sixth inning magic this time.  

Lehman worked out of a sixth-inning jam as No. 8 Regina edged second-ranked Durant 2-1 at Rogers Sports Complex in Fort Dodge to return to the Class 2A title game.

“We were up one to nothing going to the sixth the first time we played and they got a double and a home run and beat us 2-1 so the sixth inning with their studs coming up I thought ‘we are up one run it’s the bottom of the sixth what’s going to happen here’,” Prottsman said. “This time she just bowed her neck a little bit and said, ‘nah not this time’.”

Taylor O’Connor had a key RBI single in the top of the sixth that put Regina up 2-0 and the Regals held on to return to the 2A title for the third straight season.

Regina (29-11) will face No. 9 Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont (32-8) in the 2A title game on Friday at 4:55 p.m.

“We talked before the game about how badly we wanted this feeling back that we had the last two years,” O’Connor said. “We wanted to get back to the championship so bad so it feels amazing to do it.”

Regina never trailed on Thursday but couldn’t but Durant away until Lehman struck out leadoff hitter Ruby Kappler for the final out.

The Regals scored a run without a hit in the opening inning and made that run stand up until the fateful sixth.

Unlike the 2-1 regular season loss, which was the first game of a Durant sweep of the Regals, Regina added insurance on Thursday.

Jess Hunter drew a leadoff walk to start the sixth and scored from second on a two-out RBI single up the middle by O’Connor.

“Before I went up Julie Nelson one of our assistant coaches said I know you can do this,” O’Connor said. “She told me to go up there and bring my hands to the ball and rip it and that’s what I did.”

That was enough for Lehman but Durant made things interesting.

Aubrey Werthmann led off sixth with a triple off the right field fence and scored two batters later on a Kamryn Meyer ground ball to second.

Lehman git Haleigh Carnes to pop out to second and struck out Kelly Alexander to end the threat.

The senior right-hander then retired the side in order in the seventh to improve to 7-1 all-time in state tournament games.

“It means the world to us to get back there,” Lehman said. “We know that we have to win it this time.”

Lehman was impressive again on Thursday, striking out eight and walking just one in a complete game.

She definitely had great movement today,” Regina catcher Maeve Dunne said of Lehman . “She threw the right pitches, she kept them in the right spots and that’s what kept them off balance.”

Durant had a baserunner in every inning but the seventh against Lehman but couldn’t push a run across until the sixth.

Kappler was caught at the plate on a botched squeeze attempt in the first inning and Lehman retired three straight after a Ralfs leadoff double in the fourth.

“She was just better than they were, that’s all there is to it,” Prottsman said of Lehman. “And they are good, but she was better than they were.”

Regina mustered only two hits off Meyer who struck out 10, walked one and hit three more batters.

However the Regals made the most of their baserunners with the big hit coming from O’Connor in the sixth.

“I’m so glad I was able to get Jessica in that made us a lot more comfortable,” O’Connor said. “We could have gotten more but that did make us a lot more comfortable.”

Regina                        100  001  0  –  2  2  1

Durant                        000  001  0  –  1  5  2

W – Sarah Lehman                 L – Kamryn Meyer

2B – DUR: Cathy Ralfs

3B – DUR: Aubrey Werthman