Small ball may produce big results for Comets

Charles City faces Ballard in Class 4A Softball State semis

By John Burbridge sports@charlescitypress.com

FORT DODGE — Earl Weaver often said that the best play in baseball is the 3-run homer.

Charles City head softball coach Brian Bohlen and his Comets are not ones to dispute such a theorem as they tend to rely on the longball for offensive production.

Even the 1-run variety has come in handy for the Comets as it did during Tuesday’s first-round game against Fairfield at the State Softball Championships. Solo shots by juniors Ciana Sonberg and Tayler Schmidt gave the Comets momentary leads against the Trojans before Charles City eventually won 5-4 in the bottom of the seventh to advance to the semifinals 1:30 p.m. Thursday to face Ballard.

The Comets now have 35 home runs, which currently is the most in the Class 4A state finalist bracket. Ballard has the next most with 28 homers.

Yet before the Comets made their second-straight trip to Fort Dodge they worked on diversifying their offense. For that, Bohlen called on former Comet softball coach Jerry Newton.

“When you have someone around with such a great knowledge of the game, any advice he can give is going to be worth something,” Bohlen said of Newton, who’s a major reason Charles City has gotten to the state finals 26 times — fourth most in the state.

Newton was helping the Comets with the art of bunting.

“With the talent you face down here, bunting is something you need to do well when needed,” Bohlen said.

No one in the Comet lineup is immune from the bunt sign as proven during the game against the Trojans.

Schmidt, who crushed a Haley Beard pitch nearly 50 feet beyond the left-field fence, was called on to bunt in her next at-bat after Sonberg singled to start the bottom of the fifth. Schmidt not only managed to move Sonberg over, but reached herself on a throwing error.

Then in the bottom of the seventh with the score tied at 4, Comet senior Sara Martin — who leads the team with 12 homers and due to hit her first one during the postseason — attempted to bunt after Schmidt led off with a walk.

“It’s a lot to ask a hitter like Sara to lay down a bunt,” Bohlen said. “She couldn’t get one down, but it still worked out for us.”

Martin eventually singled. Two hitters later, Shantel VanHauen’s single driving home Schmidt won the game.

Fairfield utilized the bunt to provoke a pair of unearned runs in the third and sixth innings. The Trojans were trying to take advantage of Charles City’s makeshift defensive realignment after starting catcher Kelby Katcher had to be replaced due to a re-aggravated thumb injury on her glove hand.

“She just couldn’t frame the pitches the way she normally has done for us,” Bohlen said of his junior catcher, who will likely sit out the rest of the tournament.

“She’s a huge reason why we’re down here,” Bohlen said, “but now it’s over for her.”

Ballard advanced to the semis after defeating 2016 Class 4A runner-up Carlisle, 11-5. The Bombers jumped out to an 8-0 lead after two innings. The Wildcats fought valiantly to avoid the distinction of defeat by 10-run rule when they scored a run after two outs in the fifth to make the score 10-1.

Last year’s Class 4A champion Oskaloosa will take on No. 1-seed Winterset in the other semifinal. Oskaloosa advanced by besting  Mount Pleasant, 3-2, in eight innings; Winterset beat Sergeant Bluff-Luton, 5-2, in its first-round game

The Class 4A championship game is scheduled for 10:10 a.m. Friday. The third-place game is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Friday.