Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

CEDAR RAPIDS – The magic number for Jeff Kelley was four.

That’s how many runs the Liberty High coach thought it would take for his team to get past No. 11 Cedar Rapids Xavier on Saturday in a Class 4A, Region 5 semifinal.

Four runs. Maybe five.

The Lightning doubled Kelley’s number before giving the Saints a chance to bat.

Liberty High exploded for eight first-inning runs, all with two outs, in a stunning 11-0 five-inning win over Xavier at Bob Erusha Field in Cedar Rapids.

“I was keeping my fingers crossed that we could put four or five on the board,” Kelley said. “You get to the postseason and it’s hard to score. I was trying to think positive and if we could get four or five and shut down the top of their order I was figuring it would be a 4-3 or maybe a 5-4 type ball game.”

It never turned into the type of game Kelley, and just about everyone else imagine.

Liberty High swept Xavier in a regular season doubleheader 11-10 and 8-4 on June 10.

The Lightning struck early in Saturday’s third meeting.

Brylee Klosterman capped an eight-run first-inning with a three-run home run and Kara Maiers tossed a three-hit shutout as Liberty High advanced to the first regional final in program history.

Liberty High (21-21) will face fifth-ranked Independence (29-11) in the Region 5 title game on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Independence.

“I thought this game was going to be back and forth and really tight,” Klosterman said. “They are a really good team, they are strong offensively and defensively and I knew their pitchers were pretty good but I think we just had a lot of momentum from the first round and the jitters all went away for us tonight.”

Xavier (24-14) was on the verge of escaping the first inning unscathed when Saints’ starter Marry Morrow caught Miranda Jones looking for the second out but Tiffany Jones dropped a two-run single into right field.

That started a string of seven straight Liberty High batters to reach base.

“It was pretty impressive to score that with two outs because it all happened with two out,” Kelly said. “Our kids kept the pressure on and they kept battling and they were fantastic two-strike hitters tonight and that’s what you have to be.”

A Xavier error allowed another run to score and Mallory Jones lined a two-run double off the fence in left field.

Ella McLaughlin followed with a single before Klosterman delivered the biggest blow of the inning, a three-run shot to deep right field that put Liberty High up 8-0.

“She threw me high and inside which is not necessarily my favorite pitch,” Klosterman said. “I’ve been working on it and I just turned on it and barreled it up.”

Liberty High sent 12 batters to plate in the first inning that took nearly 30 minutes and provided more than enough run support for Maiers.

“I was in the dugout screaming my head off,” Maiers said. “I was so excited. As soon as we had the first run score I knew it was going to be a good game.”

Liberty High added a single run in the third on a McLaughlin RBI single.

The Lightning then ended the game via the run rule with two more in the fifth on an RBI single by Raquel Trolliet and a double by Miranda Jones, both coming with two outs.

“We’ve been working really hard on trying to let the ball get to us and not being over anxious and out in front reaching for everything,” Kelley said. “Especially with two strikes and two outs our kids did a fantastic job of shortening up their swing and not trying to do too much.”

It was plenty for Maiers.

The sophomore right-hander three and walked one in the five-inning complete game.

“It’s so much easier to go out there in a big game like this with a lead and without so much stress on my back,” Maiers said. “I knew I could go out there and just do my thing.”

Liberty High                          801  02  –  11  12  0

Cedar Rapids Xavier            000  00  –   0    3   4

W – Kara Maiers                    L – Mary Morrow

2B – ICL: Mallory Jones, Miranda Jones, Brylee Klosterman  

HR – ICL: Brylee Klosterman

Did you enjoy this subscription free article? Help keep Your Prep Sports free by becoming a member.