Comets sweep Chickasaws, clinch NEIC softball title

By John Burbridge sports@charlescitypress.com

NEW HAMPTON — The late, great Don Drysdale would sometimes relate a lesson he learned from one of this pitching coaches during his formative years.

“He asked me, ‘Donny, what are the nine most important outs?’”

The answer: first man up every inning.

“So true,” Drysdale would later confirm.

You can alter that lesson to apply to high school softball — what are the seven most important outs?

In the second game of Wednesday’s Northeast Iowa Conference doubleheader featuring the Charles City Comets and the hosting New Hampton Chickasaws, the home team managed to get the first batter on in the first and second innings. Both players — Lauren Frerichs, who was hit by a pitch in the first; and Maddi Moorman, who singled to lead off the second — ended up scoring giving New Hampton a 2-0 lead over the Comets and ace Sami Heyer, who was going for her 20th win of the season.

With Heyer’s counterpart Kerigan Tenge putting up zeroes through four innings, it looked like that lead might hold before the Comets rallied to tie the game in the fifth.

Then in the top of the seventh, the Comets got their first batter on — Ciana Sonberg, who singled.

After pinch-runner Lydia Staudt stole second and advance to third, Comet senior Payton Reams — who had earlier got the tying run home with a hard-hit grounder that ate up NH’s shortstop — laid down a safety-squeeze bunt to score Staudt for what proved to be the winning run in a 3-2 final.

With a previous 3-0 shutout victory, the Comets swept their second doubleheader in as many days while clinching the NEIC title for back-to-back championships.

Now 29-2 overall, the Class 4A No. 3-ranked Comets improved to 15-1 in the NEIC. Even if Charles City didn’t come from behind in the second game, it would have at least clinched a share of the title.

Crestwood, with the next-best conference record, already has four NEIC losses with a doubleheader against Waukon on Thursday.

Though the Chickasaws got to Heyer early in the second game, Heyer was in complete control throughout the first game as she struck out 13 in a 1-hit shutout.

New Hampton did make solid contact twice for what could have been for extra bases only to be robbed in both occasions.

Kaelyn Ambrose smoked a liner heading down the right-field line only to have Comet first baseman Ashlyn Hoeft snare it with a leaping grab.

Then later in the first game, Kayla Crooks hit a gapper to right-center field only to have Comet right fielder Lisabeth Fiser range over for a running catch.

Hoeft had four hits in the DH, including three in the second game. Fiser had two hits in the first game, and three hits for the night.

For the entire DH, Sonberg had four hits and two doubles. Comet senior Maddie Peters had three hits in the DH.

Heyer also pitched a one-hitter in the second game while striking out eight. Both the runs scored off her were earned.

Charles City will finish its NEIC schedule with a doubleheader at Decorah on Thursday.