Every bit of the pitcher’s duel and offensive struggle that it was advertised as, it took late heroics for Iowa City Regina to defeat Pella Christian’s softball team in last night’s Class 2A regional final, 2 – 1. Both teams stranded runners in scoring position in the first couple of innings, and it wasn’t until the third when the first tallies came across for both teams. The next three frames went by relatively quickly, until the bottom of the seventh, when Emily Ries smacked a two-out, game-winning double to left field to send her Regals’ teammates to the Class 2A state tournament for the second straight year. Coach Karen Harrill was happy with how resilient the Eagles were all night long, but said that in the end, it all came down to the lack of clutch hitting. Emma Schnell and Kirsten Vander Hart had the only base hits on the night for Pella Christian, who ends their season with a 21 – 8 record. Courtney Johannes is the only senior the Eagles will lose from their program for the 2017 season.

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