Darbonne’s no-hitter leads Iowa back to Sulphur – American Press

IOWA — Iowa senior Arlee Darbonne pitched one other gem Saturday to ship the Yellow Jackets again to the LHSAA state softball match for the second consecutive season.

Darbonne pitched her second consecutive no-hitter as Iowa beat District 4-3A rival, South Beauregard, 2-0 within the Class 3A quarterfinals.

High-ranked Iowa, final yr’s Class 3A runner-up, will get a rematch with No. 4 Grant within the semifinals subsequent week at North Frasch Park in Sulphur.

Iowa beat Grant 11-5 final yr.

“Arlee actually did a great job as we speak,” Iowa head coach Kenzie Singletary mentioned. “She was actually hitting spots, and he or she was spinning the ball effectively.

“The balls that had been put in play our protection was backing her up and performed clear. I’m pleased with them. They’ve labored laborious to get right here. We had been a bit of bitter after final yr’s loss, in order that they knew what they needed to do to get there once more. They’ve earned this journey.”

In three playoff video games, Darbonne has not allowed a run whereas hanging out 23 batters and strolling one in 15 innings.

Darbonne confronted the meat of South Beauregard’s lineup within the seventh inning, together with energy hitters Morgan Eaves and Emelie Worth, however ended the sport with three consecutive popups.

“I used to be very assured the entire recreation till the final inning,” Darbonne mentioned. “My nerves began attending to me, however I knew we may pitch by means of and get the win on the finish.

“I needed to hold the ball low and throw my recreation and never let the sport take management of me. I’m so excited. I like my staff a lot. They imply the world to me, and I couldn’t do it with out them behind me.”

South Beauregard bought a base runner within the first inning when Morgan Eaves drew a base on balls with two outs, however it might be the one one for the Woman Okay’s, who misplaced within the quarterfinals three consecutive seasons.

“Defensively, we held them,” South Beauregard head coach Karlee Campbell mentioned. “Offensively, we simply struggled on the plate to get base hits.

“I feel we had a great season. We’ve got an excellent group. We anticipated them to go far, and we did however sadly, it didn’t finish how we needed to.”

Iowa junior Kamryn Broussard broke up a scoreless recreation with a solo residence run to left area within the third inning with two outs. Calee Guillory hit a single within the fourth inning to carry residence Bentley Richard for a 2-0 lead.

“I instructed myself I simply bought to do what I’ve to do to assist my staff,” Broussard mentioned. “The primary at-bat wasn’t so good, however I simply needed to take it off my thoughts and get it the subsequent time.

“I went up there centered, and I used to be able to hit.”

South Beauregard pitcher Alyssa Cloessner held Iowa to 5 hits.