Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – West High split a senior night doubleheader with Linn-Mar a few weeks back.

On Thursday the West High seniors got a more fitting sendoff in the final home game of their careers.

The four seniors in the West High lineup combined for seven hits as the Women of Troy kept their season alive with a 10-2 win over Waterloo West in a Class 5A, Region 8 quarterfinal.

“It was extremely important to get a win tonight obviously to extend our season and it was very meaningful to get a win in our last game on this field,” West High senior Grace Schneider said. “It’s good to end our career here on a high note.”

Senior Eva Burbidge tossed seven strong innings and went 4-for-4 with a triple as West High (8-14) hammered 15 hits.

With the win West High advanced to the Region 8 semifinals on Saturday at fifth-ranked City High (17-4).

“It’s definitely a great way to finish because of how well we played tonight,” Burbidge said. “I thought our energy was really good which is helpful.”

Junior catcher Rylee Goodfellow went 4-for-4 with three RBI singles but this night belonged to the West High seniors.

Each West High senior had a hand in helping the Women of Troy walk off their home field victories for the final time in 2020.

“We didn’t even know if we were going to have a season so we try to make the most of it every time we are here and to get a win in our final game here is amazing,” West High senior Kate Sehr said. “I think we’ve supported each other well and we definitely came together tonight.”

Sehr had the big hit in a three-run West High first inning that set the tone for the game.

Burbidge worked around a leadoff double by Brianna McPoland in the top of the inning by getting a pair of infield pop ups to end the inning.

Goodfellow gave West High an early lead with an RBI single up the middle and Sehr followed with a two-run single that put West High up 3-0.

“It was definitely big for us to get a lead in the first,” Sehr said. “That really kind of carried over with the energy for the rest of the game.”

Burbidge tripled and scored on a Liv Williams single in the second and Kiahna Hill came around to score on a Goodfellow single.

Hill plate a run with a sacrifice fly in a three-run West High fourth and Schneider had a single as West High took a 9-0 lead with a run in the fifth.

“This was extremely special for us,” Schneider said. “I think it really helps us get some closure on our time here at West High.”

West High split a doubleheader with Waterloo West earlier this month, dropping the opener 5-4 and taking the nightcap 5-3.

Thursday’s meeting was never in doubt thanks to a solid outing from Burbidge who fanned five in a complete game.

“It was really important because we split with them before and I think tonight we played the best game that we could have,” Hill said. “It was really important to play a good game, we didn’t win because they made errors or anything, we played a good game going into City High.”

Burbidge 14 straight batters at one point before McPoland reached on an infield single with one out in the sixth.
The senior left-hander allowed two runs on four hits while improving her season record to 6-8.

“I always get a little more comfortable as the game goes on,” Burbidge said. “It felt like I got that out of the way and then I was ready to get into it.”

The win snapped a four-game losing skid for West High which included a pair of loss to cross-town rival City High last Friday.

City High won the opener of a doubleheader with West High 6-2 and took the nightcap 11-1.

West High gets another shot at the Little Hawks on Saturday with its season on the line.

“We feel extremely lucky because we didn’t know if we would even have a season and then we didn’t know if we would make it to the postseason,” Burbidge said. “Whenever we are here we are thankful to be playing and we are excited to have another few days at least.”

Wateloo West            000  002  0  –   2    4   2 

West High                  320  311  x  –  10  15  0

W – Eva Burbidge                  L – Bre’Ann Olsson

2B – ICW: Rylee Goodfellow. WW: Brianna McPoland, Bailey Schoepske

3B – ICW: Eva Burbidge

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