Grundy Center softball made few mistakes, but ultimately a few too many in their regional opener with Alburnett on Wednesday.
The Pirates broke a tie in the sixth inning with a two-RBI hit, which was enough to defeat Grundy Center, 3-1, at the Martin Sports Complex.
Alburnett advanced to Friday’s regional semifinal against No. 5 Durant. Grundy Center’s season came to an end at 17-11.
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“When it’s tournament time, the team that makes the most mistakes is going to struggle to win,” Grundy Center head coach Andy Lebo said. “We did a good job early and got ourselves out of some jams but just didn’t quite look as crisp as we have been in the past.”
Spartan senior Kyndra Dieken got the visitors rolling in the top of the first with an RBI double over the right fielder’s head to score Allison Koch for an early 1-0 lead.
“Big time leadership from her, that was huge,” Lebo said.
Eighth-grader Macey Kiewiet started strong on the mound with five of her six strikeouts on Wednesday coming in the first two innings. Her defense backed her up, too, including remarkable back-to-back defensive plays in the third inning first from Caturella Brown snagging a hard liner at first, and then shortstop Maddy Hendershot going full extension for a diving catch of a pop-up just in front of second base.
“I couldn’t be more proud of them,” Dieken said of her teammates, “I blame them for nothing. [Alburnett] handed it to us, but we battled really, really hard, and I’m just so proud for my teammates.”
The Spartans had a big missed opportunity in the fourth, loading the bases with one out after three consecutive singles from Camdyn Aronson, Lauren Zajac and Ava Heeren.
Alburnett coaxed a groundout and flyout to end the threat, and when the Pirates loaded the bases in their half of the fourth, they were able to break through when a ball to the backstop allowed a Pirate runner to score, tying the game at 1-all after four innings.
The Spartans were retired in order in the fifth, left a runner on second in the sixth and in the bottom half of the sixth Alburnett threatened again.
Dieken was able to put a tag on a runner charging home after a bunt for the second out of the inning but Avery Houts delivered a hard grounder that got out of the infield to score two Pirates for a 3-1 lead.
Suddenly down to their last three outs, Evelyn Geerdes reached on a 1-out single in the seventh but a pair of flyouts ended the game.
“We had our opportunities to score, just couldn’t get it done,” Lebo said. “Tip your hat to them for capitalizing there at the end, putting the ball in play.”
The atmosphere on Wednesday can really set the tone for a young Spartan softball team that is getting a lot of quality varsity reps.
“It’s a great learning experience,” Lebo said. “We had a really good turnout for our fans making the long drive, which we appreciate, and [Alburnett] had a huge crowd, and that’s an environment that you can’t replicate no matter how much you play ball or practice, so every time we get to experience that, it makes us better.”
Lebo added that the “sky’s the limit” for the Spartans after winning their first outright conference title since 1989: “It’s disappointing right now, but I’ll go to war with these kids any day.”
Dieken felt honored to lead the Spartans in battle on Wednesday and every day this summer.
“I thanked them in the huddle after the game for the best possible season I could ask for,” Dieken said. “We accomplished way more this year than we ever thought, and I know these girls will come back fighting even better next year, and I can’t wait to see it.”
JAKE RYDER SPORTS 