Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

FORT DODGE – Facing the top-ranked team in the state can create a lot of concerns for an opposing coach.

For Solon head coach the biggest worry heading into Tuesday’s Class 3A quarterfinal against top-ranked Benton Community wasn’t the Bobcats’ potent offense or the stuff of stingy senior pitcher Jessa DeMoss.

The biggest fear for Holub was the first inning.

“That was exactly it,” Holub said when asked about his concern about the first inning. “We had to get through that first one.”
Solon (18-25) couldn’t quite get through the first inning, spotting Benton Community an early 4-run lead in what ended a 5-1 Bobcat win at Rogers Sports Complex in Fort Dodge.

Senior Lexie Pippert ripped a two-out, three-run double to the left-center field fence to highlight a 4-run first for Benton Community (32-7) which advanced to the 3A semifinals where it will face fifth-ranked Davenport Assumption (26-12) on Wednesday at 4:45 p.m.

Solon had a three-game winning streak snapped with the loss and will conclude its season in a 3A consolation game on Wednesday at 10 a.m. against sixth-ranked Estherville Lincoln Central (31-7).

“Unfortunately we got off to kind of a slow start in that first inning and it’s hard to claw back against a quality team,” Holub said. “After that we played even with them but we just dug ourselves a little bit of a hole.”

Solon had an opportunity to put the pressure on the top-seeded Bobcats early when freshman Keegan Kleppe led off the game with a single.

DeMoss retired the next three Spartans to stand Kleppe and first and the Bobcats swung the momentum in the bottom of the inning.

“The plan was to get one in the first inning,” Holub said. “We were going to play for one and put the pressure on them and the longer we can do that we put the pressure on them, that was the plan.”

Benton Community loaded the bases with no outs and scored a run on a Solon fielding error.

Solon had a chance to get out of the inning trailing 1-0 but Pippert lined a two-out double to left field to break the game open early.

“That was absolutely huge,” DeMoss said of the Pippert double. “She has hit like that all season, it’s just a matter of if it goes in a hole or right at someone. I had all the confidence in her.”

The early lead proved to be enough for the Bobcats as DeMoss limited Solon to just one run on five hits while striking out seven.

“We talked about jumping on them early and being selective at the plate,” Benton Community coach Jordon Rettenmeier said. “We were able to do that, we were able to have that energy and that was big for us.”

Solon got a run in the third when senior Kayla Meseck led off with a single to center field and scored on a double steal after Kleppe walked.

Benton Community got a run back in the fifth on an RBI single by Layna DeMoss.

“I was really proud of our effort, we showed up,” Holub said. “After that first inning it could have gotten away from us but we battled and scratched one across. It was a good experience for them, hopefully we work hard and get back.”

Avery Babbitt and Izzy Frees added singles for Solon and Addie Miller had a double for the Spartans which stranded four runners on Tuesday.

“We said after the first inning we had to sharpen up our defense and get our bats going and we’d be set,” Miller said. “We sharpened up our defense but our bats just didn’t quite find the holes we wanted to.”

Senior Kendall Jensen took the loss for Solon allowing 5 runs on five hits while striking out three and walking five in six innings.

Jensen, Meseck and Bailey Woolley are the only senior starters for Solon which had five freshmen in the lineup on Tuesday.

“I am hoping this will build a lot of confidence and show that we can do anything,” Miller said. “No one thought we would be at state this year and we made it so that shows what we can do.”

Solon                                           001  000  0  –  1  5  1

Benton Community              400  010  x  –  5  5  0

W – Jessa DeMoss                              L – Kendall Jensen

2B – SOL: Addie Miller. BC: Lexie Pippert, Hannah Greiner (2)

Did you enjoy this subscription free article? Help keep Your Prep Sports free by donating.