Solon falls to Benton, 5-1, in Iowa high school softball state tournament quarterfinal

FORT DODGE — Solon softball lost 10 straight games over seven days this season and finished the regular season with four straight losses, so a trip to the Iowa high school state tournament didn’t seem to be in the cards.

But the Spartans rallied, winning all three of their regional matchups and earning a spot in Fort Dodge. It wouldn’t be easy as the lowest seed and top-seeded Benton sent Solon packing, 5-1, in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.

“All credit goes to Benton,” Solon coach Brad Holub said postgame. “They played a heck of a game. (Jessa) DeMoss pitched a good game. She kept us off balance. Our big hitters didn’t hit as well as they have recently. But it was still a good experience.”

The No. 8-seeded Spartans came out swinging, with leadoff hitter Keegan Kleppe sending a rocket toward the shortstop that landed her on first base.

But Solon couldn’t muster much more to support Kleppe’s early success, and the Spartans’ opponent wasted little time showing why they're the top team in the Class 3A bracket.

Emma Townsley – the first batter in Benton’s rotation – was hit by a pitch. Hannah Greiner knocked a double into left field, and Ana Glawe – with 62 RBI and 13 home runs entering the tournament – was intentionally walked.

Townsley scored on an error and, after reloading the bases, Lexie Pippert’s double into center field brought three runners in to score.

“Pippert came up, had that big hit with the bases loaded,” Holub said. “We were close to getting out of that inning and if we could’ve, I think it might have been a little bit of a different game.”

Down by four runs after one inning, the Spartans knew they needed to get on the board.

Kayla Meseck led off the top of the third and landed on first with a base hit. She stole second before taking advantage of a wild pitch to come home. Solon put one run on the board and then the defense went to work, keeping Benton off the scoreboard for four innings until the Bobcats picked up one more in the fifth.

But Solon couldn't muster any more offense and that’s how the score remained through the end of the game.

Holub still considers aspects of Tuesday’s game a victory, despite the season-ending loss. Solon returned to the state tournament for the first time since 2016 and the first time with Holub as head coach. He aimed to make it to Fort Dodge in his third season with the Spartans, and the program did just that.

“I hope so,” Holub responded when asked if the expectations for his team are higher next season. “That’s our plan, right? We got hot at the right time, never stopped working, (we) believed in one another.

“Hopefully it fuels us. … (Our seniors) are going to be hard to replace, but I think we’re deep enough to fill those holes well.”

Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel .

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Solon falls to Benton, 5-1, in Iowa high school softball state tournament quarterfinal