Comets sweep Indians, improve to 7-0 overall, 5-0 in NEIC

By John Burbridge
sports@charlescitypress.com
CHARLES CITY — There are suicide squeezes and there are … well, I guess we can call them “double” suicide squeezes.

That’s probably the best way to describe what Charles City softball coach Brian Bohlen asked freshman Lydia Staudt to do.

In the bottom of the second in the first game of a Comet-hosted Northeast Iowa Conference doubleheader versus Waukon on Thursday, Staudt was asked to lay down a suicide squeeze bunt with two strikes on her and two outs in the inning.

With no room for error, Staudt was able to bunt the ball in play scoring pinch-runner Brooke Vance from third and easily beating the throw to first to keep the inning alive.

That seemed to fire up the Comets enough to take a break from small ball for awhile to go long ball as the next batter, freshman Rachel Chambers, hit a 2-run homer that just cleared the left-field fence. Then Allie Cross and Sami Heyer followed with back-to-back doubles ahead of Alex Litterer’s RBI single — her second hit of the 7-run inning.

All that in part helped Class 4A No. 4-ranked Charles City squeeze a doubleheader sweep of the Indians into less than nine innings of play as the Comets won the first game 13-3 while batting in the fifth and the second game 13-1 while batting in the fourth.

Leadoff hitter Lis Fizer had five hits and scored 5 runs in both games. She also stole — eat your heart out Ricky Henderson — eight bases.

With her 2-run homer and subsequent RBI single in the first game, Chambers had 3 RBIs before driving in 3 more runs in the second game with a sacrifice fly and a 2-RBI single.

Staudt, like Fiser the leadoff hitter in front of her, also had five hits during the DH.

The big blows in the second game came off the left-handed bat of eighth-grader Delaney Ruzicka. In the third inning, Ruzicka drove a deep drive to right field for a 2-run triple. Then in the fourth inning with runners on second and third, Ruzicka hit a hot-hopper that ate up the Indians’ second baseman allowing both runs to score and giving the Comets a 12-run advantage that stopped the game.

For the most part, Heyer was her usual self while starting both games for the Comets in the pitching circle. She struck out six and yielded no hits in three innings in the first game before getting relieved by Dani Reetz. In the second game, Heyer was touched for a couple of hits and an unearned run, but struck out 10 while walking only one.

The Comets improved to 7-0 overall and 5-0 in the NEIC.

This weekend, Charles City will host a softball tournament at Sportsmen’s Park — weather permitting.