Published: July 10, 2009 02:29 am      

Rebels win first regional game in 5 years

By Scott McNeish

Herald Assistant Sports Editor

GOOSE LAKE — One streak ended. Another continued.

The Northeast softball team had not won a regional game in five seasons. Camanche had not won a game all year. Something had to give.

The Rebels used a nine-run fourth inning to claim a 15-7 win over Camanche on Thursday night in a Class 2A regional first-round game at Northeast High School — their first regional win since 2004. The Indians, meanwhile, finished their season 0-26.

“We didn’t want to come in with too much confidence and end up losing like all the other years,” said Northeast third baseman Roberta Swanton, who had two hits and three RBIs “We’re really stoked to get past the first round.”

Northeast (15-15) advanced to face West Branch tonight in the regional quarterfinals at Camanche High School.

“I don’t think our record represented our season at all,” Northeast pitcher Audrey Moehr said, “so it’s really nice to show that, hey, we’re still here, and we’re still fighting.”

The Rebels trailed 4-3 before sending 12 batters to the plate in the fourth. They scored nine runs on five hits to build a commanding lead.

“We made some mistakes, and it just spiraled out of control from there,” Camanche coach Troy Dodd said. “You can’t make mistakes against a team like Northeast. They’re a good hitting ballclub. They put it in play, and they put it in play hard most of the time.

“You take away that inning, and it’s a totally different game.”

Camanche outhit Northeast 11-10, but the Indians made five errors and stranded six runners in scoring position.

“It seems like that happens every game,” said Camanche second baseman Katelyn Gilbert, who had three hits. “We have a bad inning, people hang their heads and we’re in trouble. ... It’s really hard to keep going. You feel like you’re never going to win.”

The Indians kept the score close early and took a 4-3 lead in the third on Kristy Lord’s RBI groundout.

Northeast said it didn’t underestimate its winless opponent.

“They just hit the ball well,” Rebels coach Travis Eversmeyer said. “A team like that is very scary because they have nothing to lose. They came at us hard the whole game.”

Swanton and Taylor Kaczinski swatted RBI singles in the fourth to give Northeast the lead for good.

An error, a Sammi Farrell sacrifice fly and Paige Seeser’s RBI single gave the Rebels a four-run advantage. Kelsey Lorenzen’s RBI single made it 11-4 Northeast with just one out in the inning.

“Some of us were down after what happened the inning before, but we just focused on our hitting,” Swanton said. “Our hitting usually comes when we really need it.”

Camanche answered with a run in the fifth and loaded the bases with one out.

Seeser then scooped a grounder at first and fired home to catcher Danika Loots for a forceout. Loots’ ensuing throw to first sailed into right field, but Lorenzen, backing up the play, rifled a strike to Loots, who tagged hard-charging Alyssa Raymond to end the inning.

Northeast quelled another Indian uprising in the seventh to halt a bothersome five-year postseason slide.

“We had a job to do,” Moehr said, “and we got it done.”



Scoring by innings

Northeast 021 910 2 — 15 10 2

Camanche 013 011 1 — 7 11 5

Audrey Moehr, Sammi Farrell (6) and Danika Loots; Heather Kibler, Katelyn Gilbert (4) and Devanne Marik. Two or more hits — Northeast (Farrell, Kelsey Lorenzen, Roberta Swanton); Camanche (Courtney Harksen 3, Gilbert 3, Brooke Cochran). 2B — Camanche (Sarah Thornton). 3B — Northeast (Swanton). RBIs — Northeast (Loots 3, Swanton 3, Paige Seeser 2, Farrell, Lorenzen, Taylor Kaczinski); Camanche (Thornton, Marik, Kristy Lord, Lorena Temple).