State-rated Panthers split at Urbandale

Creston's Shelby Kramer.

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URBANDALE — Carrying a new state-rating status, the Creston softball team proved worthy in a pair of 1-0 games against Central Iowa Metro Conference teams Saturday. The Panthers lost to 15-8 Urbandale, 1-0, before prevailing by the same score over 9-13 Des Moines Roosevelt in the Barney Dennis Softball Classic at the Urbandale Girls Recreation Association Complex. Creston, now 21-6, is ranked No. 14 in Class 3A on the ratings released Friday by the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union. The last time Creston was ranked was late in the 27-14 season in 2004, Mike McCabe’s second year as coach, and again in the preseason ratings the following year. Reward McCabe said the recognition is nice, but the team can’t afford to get too caught up in the hype, facing a tough eight-game week that includes conference matchups with Red Oak, Harlan and Atlantic after hosting Lenox tonight. “It’s recognition for a good start,” McCabe said. “It’s for staying with it, listening to us, coming to practice early in the morning and working hard. It’s a reward. Everybody needs a bone thrown their way once in a while. Hopefully, it’s motivation, because we have a heck of a road to go now.” Harlan, Wednesday’s doubleheader opponent, is ranked No. 7 in Class 3A. Lewis Central, which plays two games here July 3, is ranked No. 13 in Class 4A. Two days later the regional tournament starts, and if Creston beats Glenwood the likely second-round opponent is No. 2 Winterset, which went 2-2 in the Urbandale event, beating Fort Dodge and Lisbon while falling to Bettendorf and Pleasantville. However, ace pitcher Jenna Kreger did not pitch against Class 2A 12th-ranked Pleasantville. Playing two Class 4A teams in tight 1-0 affairs Saturday was exactly what McCabe wanted for his team in preparation for the season’s final stretch. “You come up here, and runs are hard to come by,” McCabe said. “We scored on an error, with a girl coming in on a wind-aided ball. Playing here, even if you don’t handle all the situations perfectly every time, at least if you’ve seen them and been in them, then you can kind of react the next time.” In the opener, Urbandale scored the game’s only run in the fourth inning. The J-Hawks’ No. 3 hitter started the inning with a double, moved ahead on a bunt and scored on a sacrifice fly. Creston pitcher Madison Frain otherwise allowed only five hits and no runs, finishing with nine strikeouts. Katlin Briley and Frain had Creston’s only hits as the Panthers also struck out nine times. The Roosevelt game was also a pitchers’ duel between Frain and Marli Jefferson of the Roughriders. Panther run Creston finally broke through in the third inning, as Aubrey Pendegraft poked a single into center field. She advanced on a wild pitch and Dana Miller’s sacrifice bunt. With two outs, Briley’s sinking liner appeared to be caught by right fielder Rachel Aldridge, but the ball squirted out of her glove on the run, allowing Creston to score instead of ending the inning. Creston nearly added some insurance scoring in the sixth, but had the unusual situation of scoring no runs on two hits with only three batters in the inning. Dana Howe smashed her second hit of the game into left field. Hesitating between second and third on Shelby Kramer’s hit down the third base line, Howe was thrown out at third, and the relay to second got Kramer trying to advance on the throw. The double play ended the threat. “We kind of butchered that one,” McCabe said. “We got caught trying to decide fair or foul, and then we didn’t slide into second. Then they come right out and hit a line drive single off our glove and set them up.” McCabe met with his team when Roosevelt put runners on first and third on an error with one out. “With Madison, you can get out of that stuff,” McCabe said. “I told them we have the last say in the bottom of the inning. Then she gets the big strikeouts.” Frain got a pinch-hitter to chase three high pitches, and then caught Jenna Gathercole on a strike-three changeup to end the game. With the lead runs in scoring position, Frain said she concentrated on being consistent and not throwing one past catcher Carla Smith. “Pretty much I’m just keeping them lower instead of high,” Frain said. “I like playing in these games, because it gives us more experience against the better teams.” Creston hosts Lenox tonight, travels to Red Oak Tuesday, and plays Harlan and Atlantic in doubleheaders Wednesday and Thursday before facing two good non-conference squads, Murray and Wayne, in the Mount Ayr Classic Saturday. Urbandale 1, Creston 0 R H E Urbandale 000 100 0 — 1 6 0 Creston 000 000 0 — 0 2 2 U: Sheets 9K 0BB and Lee. Cr: Madison Frain 9K 1BB and Carla Smith. W — Sheets. L— Frain, 20-6. 2B — U: Watson, Habben. Multiple hitters — U: Strayer 2. RBI — Strayer 1. Creston 1, DM Roosevelt 0 R H E Roosevelt 000 000 0 — 0 3 1 Creston 001 000 0 — 1 4 2 R: Marli Jefferson 4K 1BB 1 HBP and Erin Mussett. Cr: Madison Frain 10K 1 BB and Carla Smith. W — Frain, 21-6. L— Jefferson. 2B — none. Multiple hitters — Cr: Dana Howe 2. RBI — Cr: Katlin Briley 1. —————— Larry Peterson can be reached at 782-2141, ext. 232 or lpeterson@crestonnews.com