Comets Bounce Bolts in Regionals | News, Sports, Jobs

With head coach Megan Yantis absent Monday due to the death of her father, her two daughters, assistant coach Easton Swanson and senior catcher Callie Swanson, contributed to a 17-5 victory over Baxter to open the Class 1A Region 5 pool at Dave Lee Field.

BCLUW (14-16) scored nine runs in the fourth inning to end the game early and advance to the regional quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Thoughts of empathy echoed through the BCLUW dugout Monday, as the Comets spoke with Yantis before and after the game via FaceTime and offered a team prayer for her and the family prior to the game.

“We all said we were going to win this one for her,” said BCLUW starting pitcher Klayre Gallentine.

TR PHOTO BY JAKE RYDER – BCLUW’s Brinna Benson approaches third base en route to a run as the Baxter outfield reaches the ball during Monday’s Class 1A Region 5 softball game at Conrad.

The Swanson girls know what they’re doing and kept everyone focused on Monday.

“I felt comfortable just giving the girls suggestions and advice and helping out tonight,” said Callie Swanson, one of three seniors on the Comet roster this summer. “It was really important for us to win this tonight.”

Baxter, a team without a win but who had already seen the Comets play in the Iowa Star twice this year, was determined to challenge BCLUW.

A walk and some errors by the Comets gave the Bolts a 3-1 lead after 1 1/2 innings.

“We just wanted to continue to do those things,” Gallentine said. “We just had to take it one ball at a time and make the next play.”

BCLUW’s bats provided a much-needed boost in the second inning. The Comets scored six runs with two outs in the inning, including an RBI for Sarah Garber, two RBIs for Raegan Crawford and three scored on a ball in play by Gallentine.

Baxter consistently rotated his pitchers throughout the game, giving BCLUW’s batters a different look every time, but ultimately it was a code the Comets were able to crack.

“We waited until the ball got to us and didn’t really hit it,” Callie Swanson said. “We adjusted well to each pitcher, were patient and had some good hits with it.”

Meanwhile, Gallentine recovered from a slow start and held his own in some tough situations; a 1-2-3 double play rescued the Comets from a bases-loaded situation in the third inning, and Gallentine finished the game with four strikeouts.

“She started off a little rough, and I think she would agree with me, but she stuck with it and got us out of that inning,” Callie Swanson said.

BCLUW put the finishing touches on the game in the fourth inning by combining its trademark aggressive baserunning with efficient bunt work, which tested Baxter’s defense.

Thirteen batters came to bat in the fourth inning, with a two-RBI single by Klayre Gallentine and RBI singles each by Callie Swanson, Grace Farnsworth and Allison Ward, plus four runs on balls to the backstop.

Wednesday’s match with BGM starts at 7pm

“We just have to keep the bats big,” Callie Swanson said, “and our defense has to stay clean. We just have to keep the energy that we had here tonight.”