FORT DODGE – It was shaping up to be a pitchers’ duel between Audubon’s Riley Miller and West Monona’s Abby Hiatt until Audubon’s half of the third.
Two wild innings made the difference, and it was Miller who came through at the plate.
Bottom of the seventh, a runner on at first and two out, score tied at 3-apiece.
Miller, who had stymied West Monona’s strong bats all game, smacked a walk-off double to right, and Wheeler senior Mattie Nielsen was coming home all the way from first to score the winning run.
And with that 4-3 victory over the Spartans, it secured the Wheelers’ place in school history.
Two more games guaranteed, with the semifinal date against Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont right back at Fort Dodge’s Harlan Rogers Sports Complex.
The Wheelers had led 3-2 going into the top of the seventh when the Spartans wouldn’t go away, with the meat of the lineup going to work to score the tying run. Savannah Lucas reached on a base hit, and came on a tough two-out RBI single by Bri Miller. But Wheeler catcher Jordan Porsch caught Miller trying to steal second and ended the threat.
Nielsen hadn’t had a base hit all game, but her first hit that dropped just inches inside the fair side of the left field line got her on base to lead off the bottom of the seventh.
After Taryn Petersen and Porsch each got out, Miller’s hit came through.
“I was kind of struggling at the plate today but I hit it when I needed to and that’s all I can ask for,” said Nielsen, the No. 1 batter in the Wheeler lineup. “It was inside and I thought it was going to go foul, but it ended up being fair ... lucky there I guess.”
When the ball came off Miller’s bat, she knew she was scoring all the way.
“I definitely knew I had a chance at scoring as (coach Andrea) Schwery sent me home,” said Nielsen.
Miller said the instant the ball came off her bat, she knew Nielsen was going to score.
“How fast she was, I knew we were winning the game with that,” said Miller. “It’s just an amazing feeling. I love everyone on this team and I’m just so proud of us.”
Again, this was a pitcher’s duel at first, with Nielsen’s lead-off walk to start Audubon’s half of the first inning the only baserunner through 2-1/2 innings.
The third inning was where Audubon began to make noise.
That’s where Gemini Goodwin reached on a one-out overthrow to shortstop, and Taryn Petersen had a two-out single. That set up Jordan Porsch’s two-run double to bring Goodwin and Petersen home and make it 2-0 Wheelers. Porsch then came home on Alexis Obermeier’s base hit to left.
West Monona responded in the top of the fourth, with all-state Iowa Western commit Kacy Miller leading off with a single to short, and Lucas beat out a throw on a bunt single to put runners at the corners. Hiatt’s sacrifice fly to left scored Miller, and Carly Stangel’s sacrifice bunt to first allowed Lucas to beat the throw home to score Stangel to make it 3-2 and cut Audubon’s lead to one.
But both pitchers settled in again, with neither team really threatening until the wild seventh inning.
“Hit the ball,” Miller said was her thought when asked what was going through her mind in the bottom of the seventh.
Schwery, who is leading the Wheelers after they and Exira-EHK joined forces this year, was proud of her team’s fight and resolve, especially in the seventh.
“I was proud of their fight and that we put up runs when we needed them,” said Schwery. “We told them we expected them to get some runs in the seventh inning and they did. But they stayed the course and calm and collected, and we were clutch in the seventh with Mattie getting on and Riley getting the (winning) hit.
“They easily could have given up ... but we knew we were in a good spot in the lineup (with the top three in the Wheeler lineup at bat) and they stayed level-headed,” she continued. “They kept fighting and that’s what’s great about our team.”
As for her pitching, Miller ended with just six strikeouts and four hits given up, but the Wheeler defense was flawless as they made some terrific catches all over the field, and Obermeier was perfect on catches at first.
“My riseball was working, and I was just trying to keep them off-balance,” said Miller. “I’m just so happy to make it (to the semifinals) as a team.”
“I’m just excited for (today) and Friday,” added Nielsen, who remarked what it would take to get to what they hope is Friday’s state championship game. “I think just keep pushing it and don’t get comfortable and we can still go really far.”
