Courtney Kessler's six RBIs game leads Regina Catholic softball past Interstate 35 in state semifinals
FORT DODGE — Regina Catholic head coach Angela Kessler felt like her team wasn’t patient at the plate or didn’t get quality at-bats in the Class 2A quarterfinal matchup.
The Regals had no problem adjusting to play their game on Wednesday in the semifinals.
The Regals wrapped things up early, beating Interstate 35, 11-1, in five innings to advance to the state championship game.
“The girls…executed at the plate every single batter, and that’s just fun to watch,” Kessler said postgame. “They work so hard, and to watch them execute so easily at the plate was a lot of fun.”
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After making quick work of Interstate 35’s first few batters, the Regals wasted no time building a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.
Ashley Webb started the scoring off when her single sent Courtney Kessler home. It took just four hits for Regina to jump up by four on the scoreboard, and the Regals even managed to pick up a run when the Roadrunners walked a Regina player with bases loaded.
It wasn’t long before the Regals were back at bat, and they added two more runs on three hits. Courtney Kessler’s single turned into a triple with an Interstate 35 error, which allowed Dani Laughlin to score. With Courtney Kessler on third, Webb stepped up to bat and hit a single on which Regina’s catcher scored.
The Roadrunners picked up their first hit in the top of the third and they managed to load the bases with only one out. But then Webb struck out Josie McCuddin and Laughlin caught Trinity Darst’s hit into left field to keep a zero on Interstate 35’s half of the scoreboard.
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“I watched her, just this week, grow so much as a pitcher and gain so much patience and execution and not be in such a hurry and wait for those pitches to work for her,” Angela Kessler said of Webb’s performance in the semifinal. “I’m super impressed with her.”
For the first time in three innings, though, Regina didn’t score. The Regals left one runner on third base and transitioned back onto defense in the fast-paced matchup.
Laughlin made a diving catch in center field for a quick out of the Roadrunners’ first batter. Then Interstate 35 scored its first run of the evening when Katie Murphy hit an RBI single and Shailey Dixson scored.
Regina responded with quite a few runs of its own. Courtney Kessler hit a double for one RBI. Then an error on the throw from Interstate 35’s pitcher to the first baseman resulted in Harper Erwin crossing home. Gabby Sueppel followed that with a drive down the middle for two RBIs, and the Regals did that all with zero outs.
The Regals started the fifth innings with a 10-1 lead and a 12-3 advantage in hits. Webb struck out the next three pitchers she faced, and Regina’s offense took over.
With runners on second and third, Courtney Kessler blasted a homer run over the center field fence to win this game in five innings and send Regina — the reigning state title holders — to the 2A state championship game for the second straight year.
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Laughlin and Courtney Kessler finished the game with four hits each, and Courtney Kessler picked up six RBIs.
“Every time she’s at-bat, I’m like, ‘This could be the last time I get to see her play high school ball,’” Angela Kessler said of watching her daughter, Courtney, close out the game.
“So, yeah, it’s definitely special. I love when she gets up to bat because she knows what I’m thinking, I know what she’s thinking…and she’s done an excellent job this week of (getting the job done).”
Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Regina softball storms past Interstate 35, into state title game
