Return of Davis sparks West softball
- Font Size:
- Default font size
- Larger font size
By Andrew Petersen | Thursday, July 17, 2008 |
Steve Saladino refused to panic.
He knew his Davenport West softball team was better than the 4-8 record it tallied to close the regular season.
Saladino had seen the same group open the year 12-0.
Soon enough, ace Jamie Davis returned from a hamstring injury and pitched the Falcons to their third Iowa state tournament appearance in five years.
West (28-12) opposes Sioux City North (32-9) in the last of four Class 4A quarterfinal games Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at the Rogers Sports Complex in Fort Dodge.
“I kept stressing that group should get to Fort Dodge if we keep doing what we need to do,” Saladino said. “You need it all. If you have a weak point somewhere or a miscue, you might just cough up a game.”
And the Falcons hacked up several in the second half of the season, including losing eight of their final 10 Mississippi Athletic Conference games.
But with Davis in the circle, West is in contention. A stellar defense has been aided recently by the addition of four soon-to-be freshmen, and the girls twice escaped bases-loaded jams against North Scott to reach state.
“That’s our key,” Saladino said. “If you scratch a run or two here and there, anything can happen.”
That’s what Davenport Assumption found in the Class 3A regional.
After two easy wins to open postseason play, the Knights prevailed in a pair of one-run thrillers to return to state after finishing fifth last season.
The Knights (29-11) open state tournament play tonight at 6 against ADM (24-16).
For the second straight year, Assumption beat top-seeded Clear Creek-Amana in a regional final behind dominant pitching from junior-to-be Alyson Valainis.
“Just my mentality, I feel more comfortable in tough situations,” she said. “I don’t feel very pressured anymore.
“We knew from the start of the season we were a great team.”
Assumption has won nine of its past 10 games thanks to a lineup that’s as impressive as Valainis’ arm. Southern Illinois signee Paige Sheeder leads the team with a .416 batting average and 28 RBIs.
While the Knights only face the possibility of fresh opponents the rest of the way, West could face MAC rival Muscatine in the 4A championship. The two teams split a pair of one-run games earlier in the season.
Muscatine (26-10) opens with Southeast Polk (33-8).
Today’s first-round games
At Rogers Sports Complex, Fort Dodge
Class 3A
Diamond 1
Davenport Assumption vs. ADM, 6 p.m.
Western Dubuque vs. Winterset, 7:30 p.m.
Diamond 2
Fort Madison vs. Carlisle, 6:30 p.m.
Waverly-Shell Rock vs. Sergeant Bluff-Luton, 8 p.m.
Thursday’s first-round games
Class 4A
Diamond 1
West Des Moines Valley vs. Linn-Mar, 4:30 p.m.
Cedar Rapids Jefferson vs. Lewis Central, 6 p.m.
Diamond 2
Muscatine vs. Southeast Polk, 5 p.m.
Sioux City North vs. Davenport West, 6:30 p.m.
Andrew Petersen can be contacted (563) 383-2288 or apetersen@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qcvarsity.com.
del.icio.us
Digg
NewsVine
Fark
redditMore Stories By Andrew Petersen
» More Varsity Stories
Highest Rated Articles from the last 7 Days
- Technology News Articles
- Computers, MP3, Phones & More. See Product Pics, Specs & Reviews.
- www.NexTag.com
- 2008 Diet Of The Year:
- Finally, A Diet That Really Works! Seen On CNN, NBC, CBS & Fox News.
- www.Wu-YiSource.com
- Cheap Airfare
- Compare multiple travel sites. Discount web fares made easy.
- www.LowFares.com
- Ads by Yahoo!
