ALL THE WAY BACK
Grand View Christian finds a way, grabs gold
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Maiah Murphy delivered a message to her team, and No. 1 Grand View Christian heard it loud and clear.
The sentiment was simple: "Great teams don't stay down."
That's exactly how the tournament went for the top squad in Class 2A, as they rallied for every win.
Down four runs after struggling defensively, the Thunder (31-8 overall) fought back to complete a historic run to the school's first ever state title.
Grand View Christian rallied and held on for a 7-6 Class 2A state championship on Thursday at Rogers Park.
"This group is amazing," said head coach Krista DeMeulenaere. "We were down in every game, but everyone believed and our bats and fielding came alive."
In the first year of the double-elimination format, the Thunder played six games in four days and came back to win five straight for the state crown -- becoming the first school to do it in the new format.
"This team played Grand View Christian softball," DeMeulenaere. "We dug deep and stayed in the moment.
"Glory to God."
GVC trailed third-seeded Wapsie Valley (21-8) 4-0 heading into the bottom of the third inning when Sophie Bird came to the plate with the bases loaded. After fouling off a pitch, the freshman ripped a ball nearly 235 feet to left center for a grand slam to tie the contest.
Livy VanDerSluis added an RBI ground out in the fourth inning to plate Morgan Pelham and the final Thunder run came in the sixth, which was a key play on an error.
The Warriors wouldn't go away quietly, as senior Maddie Ladeburg hit the ball over the fence for a two-run shot to score Espyn Decker and pull Wapsie Valley within a run. But Chloe Cox set the next two batters down in order before a single, and an ground out handed the championship to GVC.
Bird had an outstanding tournament for the Thunder, going 7-for-20 with three home runs and 10 RBI. She finished the season with nine home runs and 43 RBI.
"My teammates did their job getting on base," Bird said. "I just knew I had to play my game and stay focused."
Wapsie Valley took an early 4-0 lead thanks in large part to four GVC errors in the first three innings. All four runs were unearned as eighth-grader Harper Destival, Taylor Buhr (twice) and Decker scored for the Warriors.
Buhr finished the night 3-for-3.
Cox scored four runs, adding six RBI and two home runs. Harper Rosado had seven driven in, a home run and triple. Kruse had six hits and a home run.
"We just had to calm down," Cox said. "This just feels unbelievable to be able to do this and come back to get the win."
Bird was all-tournament captain, while Cox and Rosado were on the all-tournament squad as well.
To reach the championship, it took five games for the Thunder. They lost to eighth-seed Cardinal 4-3 on Monday.
They picked up two victories on Tuesday, knocking off Hinton 7-4 and eliminating Cardinal 11-3 on Tuesday night.
It took two victories on Wednesday to set up the championship. The Thunder outlasted Iowa City Regina, 11-8, then eliminated Regina and earned a title shot with a 4-2 win.