McQuiston steals win from Mustangs

BAXTER — CMB senior Emily McQuiston is a veteran on the Raider softball team.

She doesn’t always get her name mentioned for her reliable glove or her discipline at the plate.

Sometimes she reaches base four times and scores three runs without getting a hit and other times she lays down the perfect sacrifice bunt to get a teammate over to second base.

Tuesday night in Baxter, McQuiston finally got her chance to be the hero, and she took advantage, as her bases-clearing, walk-off double to the left-field fence scored three runs and helped the Raiders rally past arch rival PCM by a score of 11-10.

“All season I have been trying to do what is best for my team,” McQuiston said. “Tonight I had the chance to get the hit, and it feels awesome to be able to do that.”

McQuiston had two doubles in the game and she also scored twice and drove in three runs.

“She doesn’t get enough credit for what she does,” CMB coach Troy Houge said. “I told her she was a senior and one of my leaders. We needed her tonight. She was able to foul off several pitches until she got one she liked. I thought she hit it out at first.”

The final sequence of the night can only begin to describe a wild and crazy night on the softball diamond in Baxter.

PCM could not hold onto leads of 7-1 and 10-4. The Mustangs plated seven runs on three hits and four CMB errors in the third inning. And the Raiders definitely didn’t look like a first-place team in the frame.

“I almost gave back the price of admission to the fans because we were playing horrible,” Houge said. “We were playing like a last-place team. I told them at that point that they had to show me what they were made of. And they showed me what they are made of tonight. This team just doesn’t quit on me.”

While one dugout was celebrating, the team on the other side of the field was frustrated. Not because they did a lot to lose the game, but because they knew they had a win in their pocket.

“The kids still get upset at games like this because it means so much to them,” PCM coach Stephanie Langstraat said. “I guess that is good for me. But we have nothing to hang our heads about. This was a great game that could have gone either way.”

Langstraat said she was happy with her team’s performance. The Mustangs had 10 hits and drew five walks at the plate. They also committed just two errors.

“Nothing really hurt us,” she said. “They just had the last at-bat. I blame it on homefield advantage. The team that batted last tonight was probably going to win.”

CMB started with the lead in the first inning as junior Zeah Peterson scorched a pitch to the gap for an RBI double that scored McQuiston.

The lead was short-lived though, as PCM sent 11 batters to the dish and plated seven runs in the third. CMB committed four errors to give the Mustangs three unearned runs, but PCM also got a two-run single from Macey Walker.

The Raiders chipped away at their first deficit in the fifth inning. They sent nine batters to the plate in the frame with Emmeline Huffaker, Callie Farr and Jessica Heidemann all getting singles to start the frame. Then with one out, Abby Maher got an RBI single, while Peterson walked to score a run and Cheyenne Warne got an RBI hit by a pitch.

The final two hitters of the inning struck out for CMB. PCM starter Haleigh Munson struck out 11 on the night, nine of which came from No. 5 through 7 in CMB’s lineup.

The momentum shifted back to PCM though in the sixth inning.

And it was big momentum as Erica Neideigh crushed a Jessica Robinett pitch over the fence for a three-run home run that made it 10-4. It was Neideigh’s first career home run.

But it wouldn’t stop there. CMB answered in the sixth with four more runs and Huffaker and Farr began the rally once again. They scored the first two runs of the frame as McQuiston delivered an RBI double before Peterson’s RBI sacrifice fly made it 10-8.

The same thing happened for CMB in the seventh inning. With two outs, Huffaker and Farr each reached base with singles and then Heidemann laid down a bunt single to load the bases.

McQuiston began her final at-bat with an 0-2 and then took a pitch that could have been called a strike after that. She then fouled off several pitches before crushing the game-winning three-run double to left field. The ball hit the fence in the air and all three runners cruised around the bases in dramatic fashion.

“We could have been done after the home run, but we didn’t let up,” Houge said. “We definitely got away with this one.”

McQuiston said she was terrified after she took the close pitch on 0-2. Langstraat wasn’t sure if it was a strike, but she teaches her players to swing if it is close.

“That’s an uncontrollable play for us,” Langstraat said. “Most umpires like to ring the batter up in that situation.”

Houge thought the pitch was outside but also added that he trusts his hitters in that situation — especially a senior in McQuiston who has plenty of varsity experience.

“I trust my hitters,” Houge said. “She is a senior, and I trust her to know where the pitch is.”

The win for CMB keeps the Raiders on top of the Heart of Iowa Conference standings at 12-2. They also are now 20-5 overall and need just two more wins to tie the school record.

“It’s the first time we have been in this situation,” said McQuiston of being close to winning the conference championship. “It was a team effort tonight. They have helped me out all season. It was my chance to help them out.”

With the conference title in sight — and the Raiders controlling their own destiny — Houge still hopes his team takes it one game at a time.

“Sometimes when you win a game like this, it is easy to come out flat for your next game,” he said. “It’s one step at a time and one game at a time.”

For the Mustangs, they hope to recover from the loss quickly.

“We would love to perform better in the conference, but our focus now is to come back strong and begin getting ready for districts,” Langstraat said.

Notes: There isn’t much separating first-CMB from second-place Bondurant-Farrar in the conference standings. The Raiders are 13-2, while Bondurant-Farrar entered Tuesday with a 13-3 mark. ... Stephanie Hayden led PCM at the plate with three hits. Neideigh had two hits, two runs and three RBIs, while Walker also had two hits. ... For CMB, Farr had three hits, while Huffaker, Peterson, McQuiston and Heidemann each had two hits. Huffaker and Farr went a combined 5-for-7 with six runs in the No. 8 and No. 9 spots of the batting order. ... Neither pitcher was very effective in the circle. Robinett earned the win but gave up seven earned runs on 10 hits and walked five. She is 16-2 on the season. Munson took the loss for PCM after she surrendered 11 runs on 12 hits. ... The Raiders next play today against Colo-Nesco in McCallsburg, while PCM doesn’t play again until Tuesday at home against Colfax-Mingo.

CMB 11, PCM 10
R H E
PCM 007 003 0 — 10 10 2
CMB 100 034 3 — 11 12 6
P: Haleigh Munson 11K, 2BB, 2HBP and Abbi Gilson. C: Jessica Robinett 4K, 5BB and Zeah Peterson. W — Robinett. L — Munson. HR — PCM: Erica Neideigh. 2B — PCM: Stephanie Hayden. CMB: Emily McQuiston 2, Zeah Peterson 2. Multiple hitters — PCM: Hayden 3, Neideigh 2, Macy Walker 2. CMB: Callie Farr 3, McQuiston 2, Peterson 2, Jessica Heidemann 2, Emmeline Huffaker 2. RBI — PCM: Neideigh 3, Walker 2, Hayden 1. CMB: McQuiston 3, Peterson 3, Abby Maher 2, Cheyenne Warne 1.