—Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Mount Vernon’s Kylee sanders dives for a line drive up the middle against Louisa-Muscatine during a Class 3A quarterfinal on Tuesday at Rogers Park. For more photos, visit CU at messengernews.net

The pressure to live up to expectations can be unbearable, something defending state champion Louisa-Muscatine experienced as it tip-toed through regional play earlier this month.

Runs were hard to come by as the Falcons’ confidence dwindled.

“Especially since we won last year, everyone expects us to come out and win it again, but it’s not that easy,” L-M sophomore leadoff hitter Kylee Sanders said.

Whatever the Falcons worked on since a 1-0 regional final victory over Williamsburg, it payed off.

In a Class 3A state quarterfinal on Kruger Seeds Field, they erupted for 11 hits and rolled to a 10-6 victory over Mount Vernon.

“We’ve just been struggling so badly lately that those hits were so exciting for us,” Hailey Sanders, the Falcons’ starting pitcher who also went 2-for-4 at the plate with a double and RBI, said. “I just think we were having more fun. In our regional final we had pressure to get here, but now that we’re here we’re back to the team that’s loose and having fun.”

L-M (34-4 overall), ranked second and up a class from a season ago, scored eight runs total in three regional games. It had that by the time the second inning was over against 13th-ranked Mount Vernon (27-12).

Two runs in the first inning on a two-RBI single to left field by Katie Koppe were followed by a four-hit, six-run second that gave the Falcons an 8-2 lead. L-M put its first seven runners aboard in the second.

“It was a great feeling getting those hits,” Koppe said. “It was such a relief.”

The bases were full of Falcons when Kylee Sanders lined a shot back up the middle to plate two and put L-M ahead to stay, 4-2. McKenna Hohenadel followed with a RBI base knock to left, Maddie Mashek pushed another run across with a sacrifice bunt, and Hailey Sanders drove in a run on a bunt single.

Mount Vernon brought Summer Brand out of the bullpen in the third inning and she limited L-M to just four hits over the final four innings. She allowed two runs, both of which were unearned.

The offensive explosion was plenty for Hailey Sanders, who fanned 11 in a winning effort inside the circle. She’s averaging 13 strikeouts per game in the postseason.

The Mustangs touched her for eight hits, including two each by Sammy Moss and Kenzie Ketchum.

Moss drove in a run in the fifth and Ketchum tagged the ball into left for a two-run single in the seventh to close the gap to four runs.

The Sanders sisters, Koppe, Mashek and Hohenadel all had two hits for the Falcons.

The win sets up an intriguing semifinal for L-M against fourth-ranked West Liberty (29-5), which hammered seventh-ranked Treynor, 10-0 in 5 innings on Tuesday.

West Liberty pitcher Isabelle True manned the circle for the Falcons a season ago and was the captain of the all-tournament team.

“I think it will be a good match up,” Kylee Sanders said of facing her former teammate.

“We both have great offense and defense, so it should be fun.”

L-M and West Liberty will meet this afternoon at 1:30 p.m. on Iowa Central Field.

Louisa-Muscatine 10,

Mount Vernon 6

Mt. Vernon 020 020 2 — 6 8 3

Lo-Musc. 261 001 x — 10 11 3

Mandy Roe, Summer Brand (3) and Mandy Morrical. Hailey Sanders and Katie Hearn. W–H. Sanders. L–Roe. Multiple hits–MV: Sammy Moss, Kenzie Ketchum; L-M: H. Sanders, Kylee Sanders, McKenna Hohenadel, Maddie Mashek, Katie Koppe. 2B–L-M: H. Sanders, Koppe. RBI–MV: Ketchum (2), Moss, Caitlin Babcock, Nadia Telecky; L-M: K. Sanders (2), Mad. Mashek (2), Koppe (2), Mc. Hohenadel, H. Sanders.