No. 8 Vikings do it again
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On paper, Edgewood-Colesburg is the underdog each time they take to the diamond here at the state softball tournament.
But the Vikings do not feel like that role fits them.
Edgewood-Colesburg, ranked 15th and the No. 8 seed in Class 1A, topped seventh-ranked Southeast Warren on Tuesday on Farm Bureau Field, 8-5.
The Vikings (29-10 overall) plated six runs in the fifth to take control after exchanging two-run innings with the Warhawks. Faith Dugan was 3-for-4 with a double, two steals and an RBI, as Kara Knipper had two hits and drove in three.
Addi Schmelzer added two hits with two RBI, Eva Vaske scored twice and Rachel Egleseder added to her incredible season-long strikeout total with five, giving her over 300 on the year.
In the first round on Monday, Edgewood-Colesburg relied on a 15-strikeout showing from Egleseder to defeat top seed Grand View Christian. This time around, it was the defense that made several key plays.
"Typically, Rachel gives us a lot of leeway in the field because of her strikeouts," Schmelzer said. "But we were tested in the field and I think we did a great job. I know I had a couple plays that I could have done better, but we all really stepped up."
With one more win, Edgewood-Colesburg would advance to the 1A championship game, which Schmelzer says would be the, "biggest dream ever."
"We've been working the entire season for that," Schmelzer said. "We all know what we can do."
For Southeast Warren, Madison Olsasky had three hits and two RBI, as Lexi Clendenen was 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Kiara Wallace also had two hits and Bella Ewing scored twice.
EDGEWOOD-COLESBURG 8, SOUTHEAST WARREN 5
E-C 020 060 0 -- 8 11 3
SEW 200 021 0 -- 5 11 0
WP--Rachel Egleseder (7 IP, 11 H, 4 ER, 5 K, 1 BB). LP--Allie Giesler (7 IP, 11 H, 8 ER, 2 K, 2 BB).
2B--EC: Faith Dugan, Addi Schmelzer; SEW: Lexi Clendenen, Harper Wallace. RBI--EC: Kara Knipper, Faith Dugan; SEW: Madison Olsasky (2), Lola Shriver. SB--EC: Faith Dugan (2), Ava Hoefer, Chloe Everett, Kara Knipper.