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Sparkling debut

—Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Neveah Hildebrandt catches a fly ball against Central Spring during a Class 2A quarterfinal on Tuesday at Rogers Park. For more photos, please visit CU.messengernews.net

Northeast is at the state softball tournament for the first time in school history, and the Rebels are sticking around for a few more days.

Neveah Hildebrandt drove in Elizabeth Chambers to break a tie, sending Northeast into the Class 2A semifinals with a 5-4 victory over Central Springs here Tuesday afternoon at Rogers Park.

The Rebels (20-2 overall) will face defending state champion North Linn (24-0) on Wednesday at 5 p.m. on Veterans Diamond. The Lynx stretched their win streak to 30 in a row with a 10-0 victory over Ridge View.

Hildebrandt, a junior, lined a ball that allowed Chambers, a sophomore, to score from third with two outs.

“I was just thinking, ‘stay calm, don’t get nervous,'” Hildebrandt said. “It’s not the end of the world if we don’t score here.”

The hit set off a celebration for the entire team, which set school records for win percentage and had all nine position players make the all-River Valley Conference teams.

Northeast head coach Travis Eversmeyer, in his 12th season and with 271 wins in his career, stated “It’s an exciting time.”

“Game-winning hit, state tournament,” he added. “That’s something they’ll remember the rest of their lives.”

Madison Kluever, an eighth-grader, earned the win inside the circle, striking out a pair over seven innings to improve to 19-2. Hildebrandt finished 3-for-3 with two RBI, while Claire Abbott, Makenna McDonald and Audrey Morris all drove in a run each.

Hildebrandt and Morris each connected on home runs.

An early 2-0 lead for the Rebels was erased when Central Springs (17-4) scored two in the second and two more in the third. Northeast tied it at 4-all with runs in the third and fourth.

Abigayle Angell led the Panthers with three hits, two RBI and two runs including a homer, with Madisyn Kelley adding two hits. Cooper Klaahsen struck out seven batters.

Central Springs has qualified for state seven consecutive years, placing fourth in 2018.

NORTHEAST 5, CENTRAL SPRINGS 4

Central Springs 022 000 0 — 4 8 1

Northeast 201 100 1 — 5 8 0

WP–Madison Kluever (19-2, 7 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 2 K, 3 BB); LP–Cooper Klaahsen (16-3, 6ª IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 7 K, 2 BB). HR–CS: Abigayle Angell; N: Neveah Hildebrandt, Audrey Morris. 2B–CS: Abigayle Angell, Kaylea Fessler, Madisyn Kelley; N: Makenna McDonald, Madison Kluever. RBI–CS: Kaylea Fessler, Abigayle Angell (2), Emme Dietrich; N: Neveah Hildebrandt (2), Claire Abbott, Makenna McDonald, Audrey Morris.

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