Ankeny Christian Academy pitcher Katie Quick wasn’t too concerned when the Coon Rapids-Bayard softball team scored seven runs in the top of the first inning during Wednesday’s Class 1A regional quarterfinal at the Prairie Ridge Sports Complex.
“I was a little worried, but I know we can score that many (runs),” said Quick. “I was just thinking we need to hold them here. No more (runs), and then let our bats do the work.”
The Eagles closed the gap to 7-5 after three innings, then used a four-run rally with two outs in the bottom of the fifth to post a 9-8 victory in the school’s first-ever postseason game.
Quick capped the rally with a three-run, inside-the-park home run. It was her 12th homer of the season, which ties her for ninth among all players in the state.
“I almost didn’t even look at my coach,” Quick said of her trip around the bases. “I was just going all the way.”
Coon Rapids-Bayard got a run in the seventh to pull within 9-8, but the Crusaders then left the potential tying run stranded on second base.
“That was exciting,” said ACA coach James Crosby. “That’s how we like them, though. Close games, tight competition. I love it.”
Ankeny Christian raised its record to 18-6 in its first year of competition. Coon Rapids-Bayard finished at 9-12.
Malia Clayburg went 4-for-4 with a triple, scored two runs and drove in another to lead Coon Rapids-Bayard. Piper Mason had a two-run single in the Crusaders’ big first inning, when 11 batters went to the plate.
“I feel like I didn’t have my velocity as much, and I wasn’t spinning it very well,” Quick said of the Eagles’ rough start. “We also had a couple of errors.”
But Quick (8-5) then settled down the rest of the way. She allowed eight hits, walked four and had three strikeouts.
“I was trying to get ahead and not let them get any good batting counts,” Quick said. “I was trying to get on top.”
Crosby said Quick also started throwing harder.
“I don’t know if you noticed, but after that first inning she was zipping harder and started mixing in a lot of changeups,” he said. “It was keeping them off-balance the rest of the game.”
The Eagles started their comeback in the bottom of the first, when Riese Gjerde tripled with two outs and scored on a single by Breeze Bentz. Sydney Quick hit another RBI single in the second to make it 7-2.
Katelyn Weathers ripped a leadoff double in the third, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on an error. Gjerde followed with a single, stole second and came home on a triple by Bentz, who then scored on a bunt by Abby Farrand.
The Eagles continued their rally and eventually loaded the bases with two outs before Katie Quick popped out to end the inning.
“I knew we could definitely come back,” Quick said. “I was in a little bit of a slump this game, but it was ok. I just needed to focus on getting one solid hit, and I knew the rest of my team would pick me up.”
In the fifth, Quick got another chance after Coon Rapids-Bayard started the inning by turning a nifty 3-6 double play. After a pair of walks, Sydney Quick drove in a run with a bloop single.
Katie Quick then hit a line drive that rolled all the way to the fence when Mason, the Crusaders’ rightfielder, tried to make a diving catch.
“This team is never out of it,” Crosby said. “We’ve been putting runs up all year so I knew they weren’t going to win with seven runs. We just needed to go get a couple every inning. Chip away.”
The Eagles will play at fifth-ranked Collins Maxwell (25-3) in a regional semifinal on Friday at 7 p.m. The Spartans advanced with a 12-0 victory over Glidden-Ralston in three innings.
On June 19, Ankeny Christian posted a 3-2 win at Collins-Maxwell to hand the Spartans one of their three losses. The Eagles scored two runs in the seventh inning to erase a 2-0 deficit, then plated the go-ahead run in the eighth.
Weathers had a home run for Ankeny Christian, while Gjerde tossed a two-hitter and had seven strikeouts.
“The key for us is just going to be to hold them,” Quick said. “They’re not amazing offensively, but their pitcher is really good. If we can hold them and score a few (runs), then we’ll be in good shape.”
Collins-Maxwell’s Erica Houge had 17 strikeouts in the first meeting and boasts a 0.17 ERA. She has allowed only four earned runs all season, but three of them were to the Eagles.
“I’m confident we can give them a run,” Crosby said.
The winner of Friday’s game will play either No. 11 Earlham (24-12) or Riverside (20-11) in the regional final on Monday.
