Bearcats win Top of Iowa-East softball title

By John Burbridge

sports@charlescitypress.com

ROCKFORD — While many people took Friday off to extend the holiday weekend even further, the North Butler Bearcats worked a double shift.

Why?

Because they’re greedy.

“One of our main goals was to win conference,” North Butler head softball coach Jeff Stirling said of the inaugural Top of Iowa-East championship, “but we didn’t want to share it with anyone.”

In order to do that, the Bearcats had to win two road games at separate locations against top-notch, Top of Iowa competition. First on the agenda were the Central Springs Panthers, who had saddled the Bearcats with their lone conference loss earlier in the season.

Ranked No. 4 in Class 2A by the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union, the Panthers also had one conference loss going into their originally scheduled Thursday home game against the Bearcats.

The game was postponed due to rain and moved to Friday afternoon. That’s when the Bearcats won, 3-1, to start their weekend.

“We played excellent,” Stirling said. “We hit the ball well, and Tayler (Graven) pitched great for us.”

But the Gatorade celebration would have to wait as the Bearcats had to travel to Rockford for one last conference-standings implication game against the Warriors.

Against Rockford starter Marissa Norby, things looked good early for the Bearcats. Hallie Testroet hit a bases-loaded double to put North Butler up 3-0.

Rockford responded with two runs in the latter half of the frame as Skyler Skylar Schmidt’s two-out, two-RBI single made the score 3-2.

For the following five innings, Norby and Graven matched zeros with the help of some excellent defense. In the fourth inning, Rockford centerfielder Sarah Parcher robbed Kayla Siemens of a hit with an all-out diving catch of a sinking line drive.

It would be the only time leadoff hitter Siemens was retired as she was 3-for-4 for the game.

Bearcat first baseman Schmidt also made a difficult play when she gloved an in-between hop from a ball thrown by catcher Nicole Heeren to erase a bunt-for-single attempt by Rockford to end a threat in the fifth inning.

When a popup was misplayed by Rockford to start the seventh innings, that set the Bearcats off and running as they rallied for five runs and eventually won, 8-2, to clinch the conference title outright.

RBI doubles by Marcy Jacobs and Madi Pleas were the big blows in the inning.

“It was a tight game, but once we got going (in the seventh) we kept our foot on the gas,” Stirling said of his Bearcats, who improved to 23-3 and 15-1.

Rockford fell to 15-10 and 7-8.

Both teams will be in action tonight in a pair of regional first-round games. The Warriors will host North Iowa (8-14) at 5 p.m. in the Class 1A Region 2 bracket; the Bearcats will host Tripoli (1-16) at 7 p.m. in the Class 1A Region 3 bracket.

“It was nice to reach one of our goals, but from this point on our record is 0-0,” Stirling said.