Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

SOLON – For any coach with a young team there is a moment that can be pointed to as a turning point.

For Brad Holub and his young Solon squad that moment may just end up being Tuesday night.

Solon rallied late twice for wins to earn a doubleheader sweep of WAMAC rival Marion on a hot evening in Solon.

The Spartans scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh to earn a 9-8 win in the opener and freshman Nora Sanderson provided the game-winning hit in the bottom of the sixth in a 5-4 win in the nightcap as Solon improved to 7-5 on the season.

“We lost a few games early where it was just not knowing how to win, not knowing how to finish,” Holub said. “We fell behind in those games and we didn’t come back so our resilience is coming. Hopefully this is a turning point for a lot of these kids.”

Solon trailed 8-5 in the opener before using some late heroics to pull out a win.

The lone senior starter for the Spartans, Dillon Ostrander had a key two-out hit in the four-run seventh inning along with eighth graders Ashtyn Swancutt and Kinley Streif.

After sophomore Riya Farlinger drew a bases loaded walk to tie the score Steif provided the game-winner with a single up the middle.

“Every player that got called on did something,” Holub said. “Eighth graders, ninth graders, they made meaningful plays. They had some big moments.”

It was more of the same for the Spartans in the nightcap.

Marion (9-5) took a 3-0 lead in the opening inning on a three-run home run by Josie Logan.

The Wolves took a 4-3 lead on doubles by Jordan Hodges and Natalie Heald in the fourth but Solon rallied again.

Solon scored twice in the bottom of the sixth to take a 5-4 lead.

Beckett Kruse plated Ostrander with an RBI ground out to tie the game and Solon took the lead for the first time on a pinch-hit RBI single by freshman Nora Sanderson.

“I wasn’t really prepared but going out there I had to make contact and get on base,” Sanderson said. “I was able to do that.”

Sanderson ripped a sharp single to right field to plate Swancutt who had singled and stole second for her first varsity hit that gave Solon its only lead of the nightcap.

“I was just trying to get it on a gap,” Sanderson said. “I was trying to get on base and get the runner to score.”

Junior pitcher Emerson Miller took care of the rest, working around a pair of one-out walks in the top of the seventh to secure the win.

Miller didn’t allow a run over the final three innings while improving her record to 4-3 on the season.

“It’s been a rough season for me but getting this win felt good,” Miller said. “I had to come in clutch. I hadn’t been doing too well so this game needed to be my game and it may have not been the best pitching game but we did the job, we got the sweep.”

After allowing four runs on six hits over the first four innings Miller held the Wolves scoreless while allowing just one hit over the final three frames.

“I just had to go there and think about striding out as far as could and the flick of the wrist and releasing at the right point,” Miller said. “We did the job. It wasn’t the best performance but we got the win and that’s all that counts.”

After a 3-0 start to the season Solon had dropped five of its last seven games before the sweep on Tuesday.

Solon, which travels to South Tama on Wednesday and Anamosa on Friday, sees Tuesday’s sweep as a potential turning point.

“We are getting there, we are building it up,” Miller said. “We started out really strong then we had a few shaky games and we started having talks before the games and we just have to go out there and have fun. You chose to play softball, you are taking your whole summer to play you have to enjoy it and that’s what we are starting to do.”

Game 1

Marion           000  024  2  –  8  10  4

Solon              003  200  4  –  9  10  2           

W – Laeni Hinkle                               L – Gracie Neal

2B – MAR: Reygan Dirks. SOL: Beckitt Kabela

Game 2

Marion           300  100 0  –  4  7  1

Solon              120  002 x  –  5  7  1

W – Emerson Miller                           L – Lucy Turner

2B – MAR: Jordan Hodges, Natalie Heald

HR – MAR: Josie Logan

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