Comets slam the door on Mason City

Charles City blasts its way to the regional finals

By John Burbridge

sports@charlescitypress.com

CHARLES CITY — The final outcome wasn’t much in doubt.

Through five and a half innings, the Charles City Comets were well on their way in punching their ticket to the Class 4A Region 3 softball final with a comfortable 7-0 lead over visiting semifinal foe Mason City on Saturday.

Still, it was nice to end the game with a grand slam.

With no outs and the bases jammed, Charles City cleanup hitter Sara Martin clubbed her team-leading 11th home run of the season driving a two-strike pitch from Mohawk starter McKenna Mentink nearly 20 feet beyond the left-centerfield fence.

Eleven to nothing. Game over.

Until that point, Martin — who has a slugging percentage of .820 — was the only starting-lineup Comet who hadn’t had a hit in the game.

Charles City senior Jamie Sindlinger had three in three at bats, including a double. Megan Staudt and Cianna Sonberg also doubled, and Tayler Schmidt was 2-for-2 and reached base two other times with walks.

The 11-run, 12-hit attack was more than enough support for Charles City starter Megan Roethler, who scattered five hits and struck out six with no walks while improving her record to 13-6.

The Comets applied pressure early as Roethler got Charles City on the board in the first inning with a two-RBI, bases-loaded single followed by a RBI-double by Staudt.

The Comets added another run in the fourth when Payton Reams’ foul-out along the left-field line was deep enough to score Sindlinder, who previously doubled.

The Comets had another three-run inning in the fourth inning with an RBI-double by Sonberg, Sindlinger scoring from third on a dropped third strike, and a sacrifice fly by Shae Etherington.

Mason City did pose a bases-loaded threat in the third inning only to have Roethler fan Anna Lensing for the third out leaving three stranded.

Charles City’s defense assisted in the shutout. In the fifth inning, the Comets pulled off a double play the hard way when Sami Miller hit a grounder to first baseman Sindlinger, who stepped on the bag and then whirled to throw to shortstop Bailey Mitchell, who tagged out Jenni King when she rounded second base.

King had two hits for Mason City (10-31).

The Comets (22-10) will play West Delaware in Manchester at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The Hawks edged Epworth, 1-0, in their semifinal on Saturday.

The winner advances to the Class 4A State Tournament starting July 19 in Fort Dodge.

Class 4A Region 3 Semifinal

CHARLES CITY 11, MASON CITY 0

Scoring By Innings

MC 000 000 — 0 5 0

CC 310 304 — 11 12 0

WP — Megan Roethler (CC) 6 IN, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 SO.

LP — McKenna Mentink (MC) 5 IN, 12 H, 11 R, 11 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO.

Leading Hitters — Charles City: Jamie Sindlinger (3-3, 2B, 3 runs scored), Tayler Schmidt (2-2, 2 runs scored, 2 BB), Sara Martin (1-4, GS HR, 4 RBIs, run scored); Mason City: Jenni King (2-3).