Cardinal lands upset punch
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One of four seniors, Summer LaRue perfectly summed up the feelings of her Cardinal softball teammates after the Comets knocked off top-seed Grand View Christian Monday.
Cardinal (17-10 overall) upset fifth-ranked Interstate 35 in a Class 2A regional final, ending a 21-year hiatus from Rogers Park. They now face Iowa City Regina on Tuesday at 12:15 p.m.
"Nothing will ever beat this moment," said LaRue, who went 3-for-4. "This is the best memory I think I'll ever have.
"We just knew what we were able to do and just felt like since we're the underdogs, we can show everyone what we're able to do."
Mavryn Hickenbottom drove in two runs, as Sophia Brown and Kolbi Saner each added an RBI. Brown also had two hits, as Maclain Hickenbottom held the Thunder (27-4) to just four hits, striking out nine.
While the last state trip for the Cardinal resulted in an eighth-place finish in 2005, they were 1A state champions the two seasons prior. They also have state experience on the coaching staff, with head coach Hannah Simpson coming here while playing for Fairfield and assistant coach Zoey Jones making it with Ottumwa.
"It's amazing," LaRue said. "Seeing all the teams and the people in the stands is nerve-wracking, but it is also exciting to know that we have all these people from our hometown that came three hours just to watch us play."
The Thunder now meet Hinton in an elimination game at 10 a.m. on Hy-Vee Field.
CARDINAL 4, GV CHRISTIAN 3
Cardinal 100 300 0 -- 4 7 2
GVC 100 020 0 -- 3 4 2
WP--Maclain Hickenbottom (12-7, 7 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 9 K, 1 BB). LP--Chloe Cox (18-3, 7 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 1 K, 3 BB).
2B--C: Summer LaRue, Mavryn Hickenbottom. RBI--C: Sophia Brown, Mavryn Hickenbottom (2), Kolbi Saner; GVC: Sophie Bird, Harper Rosado, Grace Kruse. SB--GVC: Livy VanDerSluis.