Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: Abby Pate of Central Springs reacts after hitting a two-run homer against West Monona during the 2A quarterfinals on Tuesday at Rogers Park.

State tournament veteran Central Springs put together all three phases of the game and dispatched West Monona by an 8-2 count in a Class 2A quarterfinal game Tuesday afternoon on the Iowa Central Field at Harlan Rogers.

Playing in the state tournament for the ninth straight season, the third-seeded Panthers (26-5) banged out nine outs and rode the three-hit pitching of senior Cooper Klaahsen and some solid defense to reach the semifinals for the third year in a row.

The nine straight trips to state ties the all-time record, also held by Woodward-Granger and Akron-Westfield.

The tournament resumes of the two teams couldn’t have contrasted more. Central Springs is playing in its 10th state tournament all time. West Monona is at the state tournament for the first time ever in Fort Dodge. The last time the Spartans played at state was 1968, before it moved to Harlan Rogers Park.

“The girls feel pretty comfortable, but we aren’t taking anything for granted,” said Central Springs Coach B.J. Fessler. “The girls are staying focused. They definitely know what it will take to reach our goals.”

Central Springs has a talented senior class leading the way. Five players will continue their careers in college next season.

Klaahsen, who is headed to Mayville State to play next year, finished with 11 strikeouts, giving her 208 for the season. She had eight strikeouts over the first three innings when the Panthers were holding on to just a 1-0 lead.

“I was just working to figure out what (the batters) were struggling with,” said Klaahsen, now 20-4 on the season. “We knew they had a lot of slap bunters and they would put pressure on us. I’m just so confident in my team and our defense. And our offense has been just amazing all five years I’ve been pitching.”

Central Springs broke open the game in the bottom of the fourth, scoring five times. The big blow was a two-run home run by Abby Pate that made it 6-0.

It was Pate’s 10th home run of the season and the team’s 31st.

Zaila Dahlstrom, Azaria McDonough and Carly Ryan also drove in runs during the inning.

Klaahsen also got some help in the game from battery mate Sharli Fessler, who threw out three runners attempting to steal.

“All three phases were outstanding today,” said Coach Fessler. “They put pressure on everyone. It was good to see Sharli throw a few out from behind the dish. I think our offense still has more left. Hopefully we get to see that again.”

West Monona (29-7) plated two runs in the top of the fifth, getting RBI doubles from both Neveah Healy and Kacy Miller. But Miller was later thrown out trying to steal third and the threat was ended.

Ryan finished the scoring for Central Springs with a two-run double in the bottom of the sixth.

Lainie Bouillon had three hits for Central Springs, including a triple. Ryan and Lizzy Hamand had two hits each.

Central Springs will take on Van Meter in the Class 2A semifinals tonight at 5:30 back on this field. The Panthers will be seeking their first-ever trip to the finals. Van Meter beat Missouri Valley 6-1 yesterday.

West Monona and Missouri Valley meet in a consolation game today at 1 p.m. on the Dodger Diamond.

CENTRAL SPRINGS 8, WEST MONONA 2

West Monona 000 020 0 — 2

Central Springs 010 502 x — 8

LOB–West Monona 4, Central Springs 5. ERR–Carly Stangel, Lainie Bouillon, Cooper Klaahsen (2). 2B–Neveah Healy, Kacy Miller, Carly Ryan. 3B–Lainie Bouillon. HR–Abby Pate. SACB–Joslin Gaukel, Brooklyn Pekarek, Cooper Klaahsen, Azaria McDonough. SB–Kacy Miller, Lainie Bouillon, Sydney Berding. WP–Carly Stangel, Carly Miller (3).