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CENTERVILLE — It's not just that the program endured seven consecutive losing seasons.
It's that the run of futility for the Mediapolis softball team began with a 54-game losing streak that spanned the course of four different seasons. Over five seasons, the Bullettes won by 19 of 105 games.
That was just three years ago. On Thursday, Mediapolis won its 17th game of this season pulling off a thrilling 1-0 win at 11th-ranked Centerville in the Class 3A, Region 8 quarterfinals.
"Our program was way down six years ago when we took over this thing. This is our second straight winning season. It's a testament to how good our girls are getting better and wanting to get really good," Mediapolis head softball coach Jeff Martin said. "It shows on the field. We've won a lot of close games like this."
The postseason road win for Mediapolis mirrored the success that Centerville had last season when the Redettes scored a pair of road wins in regional tournament play, including a regional semifinal win at No. 14 Atlantic. Like Mediapolis, Centerville has has to overcome tough seasons to find sustained success going from a three-win season in 2022 to 35 wins over the past two seasons, finishing up 17-7 this year with a top-15 statewide ranking.
"I hate to put the cart before the horse, but this is a tough group of girls to lose," Centerville head softball coach Alex Belloma said. "I've coached a couple of these girls for seven years through middle and high school. It's hard to part with them. They've been a special group that have really helped set the foundation of what Redette softball should be."
The postseason opener at the Lakeview Complex produced a classic duel between Mediapolis sophomore pitcher Payton Harris and Centerville junior pitcher Kaylee Davis. Between the two aces, the Bullettes and Redettes combined for just one run on eight hits while striking out 19 times over the seven innings.
"She (Harris) was moving really well and it helped that her defense was really good behind her," Davis said. "I was just trying move the ball around the plate trying to make them swing at junk."
Davis was challenged immediately by Harris, who connected on a two-out single in the opening inning before stealing second base. Delaney Griffith nearly gave Mediapolis the lead, dropping a ball over the head of Davis who had to recover and throw out Harris at the plate to keep the game scoreless.
"I came in feeling very stressed," Davis said. "I was very nervous and kind of shaky before the game. Once I started throwing, I felt better. It was a very intense game."
Harris and Davis combined to retired the next 16 hitters, keeping the game scoreless into the fourth inning. Harris was finally able to cross home plate after drawing a one-out walk and again stealing second base, coming home on a two-out double to right by Avery Bandy putting the Bullettes on top.
"Peyton Harris is a really special athlete. She was the state runner-up in the discus, leading until the very last throw, and on this team she really makes us go," Martin said. "She was injured a little bit this season, but she's a really great hitter. She's very clutch. When it really matters, she shows up."
Harris and Bandy combined to connect on four hits in the contest for Mediapolis, reaching second base in each of the last two innings. Davis responded by recording a pair of strikeouts in both the sixth and seventh, finishing with 11 strikeouts in the contest giving Centerville a chance to pull out the win at the plate.
"Kaylee has worked so hard and deserves all the accolades that she gets," Belloma said. "Every night she's on the pitching rubber, we feel like we've got a chance to win. She's going to give us everything she's got."
The Redettes had chances to push a run across against Mediapolis, putting runners on base in three of the final five innings including a pair of runners on base in the fourth and the sixth. While Davis kept Centerville in the game in the pitching circle, the Redette junior could not come up with a potential game-tying hit in either the fourth or sixth as Harris forced Davis to fly out to right ending the fourth before striking out Davis in the sixth.
"There was probably a little bit of extra pressure everyone felt all the way around. I know I felt it all day," Belloma said. "They didn't want to disappoint anyone. You can how emotional Kaylee is about this loss. I know it means a lot to her. I'm happy it's taking this toll on her, because it shows that she doesn't want to lose."
Mediapolis, now 17-10, heads to Fairfield on Saturday night for the Class 3A, Region 8 semifinals. The winner of that game faces either Washington or No. 10 West Liberty on Tuesday in the regional finals with a state tournament berth on the line.
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It's that the run of futility for the Mediapolis softball team began with a 54-game losing streak that spanned the course of four different seasons. Over five seasons, the Bullettes won by 19 of 105 games.
That was just three years ago. On Thursday, Mediapolis won its 17th game of this season pulling off a thrilling 1-0 win at 11th-ranked Centerville in the Class 3A, Region 8 quarterfinals.
"Our program was way down six years ago when we took over this thing. This is our second straight winning season. It's a testament to how good our girls are getting better and wanting to get really good," Mediapolis head softball coach Jeff Martin said. "It shows on the field. We've won a lot of close games like this."
The postseason road win for Mediapolis mirrored the success that Centerville had last season when the Redettes scored a pair of road wins in regional tournament play, including a regional semifinal win at No. 14 Atlantic. Like Mediapolis, Centerville has has to overcome tough seasons to find sustained success going from a three-win season in 2022 to 35 wins over the past two seasons, finishing up 17-7 this year with a top-15 statewide ranking.
"I hate to put the cart before the horse, but this is a tough group of girls to lose," Centerville head softball coach Alex Belloma said. "I've coached a couple of these girls for seven years through middle and high school. It's hard to part with them. They've been a special group that have really helped set the foundation of what Redette softball should be."
The postseason opener at the Lakeview Complex produced a classic duel between Mediapolis sophomore pitcher Payton Harris and Centerville junior pitcher Kaylee Davis. Between the two aces, the Bullettes and Redettes combined for just one run on eight hits while striking out 19 times over the seven innings.
"She (Harris) was moving really well and it helped that her defense was really good behind her," Davis said. "I was just trying move the ball around the plate trying to make them swing at junk."
Davis was challenged immediately by Harris, who connected on a two-out single in the opening inning before stealing second base. Delaney Griffith nearly gave Mediapolis the lead, dropping a ball over the head of Davis who had to recover and throw out Harris at the plate to keep the game scoreless.
"I came in feeling very stressed," Davis said. "I was very nervous and kind of shaky before the game. Once I started throwing, I felt better. It was a very intense game."
Harris and Davis combined to retired the next 16 hitters, keeping the game scoreless into the fourth inning. Harris was finally able to cross home plate after drawing a one-out walk and again stealing second base, coming home on a two-out double to right by Avery Bandy putting the Bullettes on top.
"Peyton Harris is a really special athlete. She was the state runner-up in the discus, leading until the very last throw, and on this team she really makes us go," Martin said. "She was injured a little bit this season, but she's a really great hitter. She's very clutch. When it really matters, she shows up."
Harris and Bandy combined to connect on four hits in the contest for Mediapolis, reaching second base in each of the last two innings. Davis responded by recording a pair of strikeouts in both the sixth and seventh, finishing with 11 strikeouts in the contest giving Centerville a chance to pull out the win at the plate.
"Kaylee has worked so hard and deserves all the accolades that she gets," Belloma said. "Every night she's on the pitching rubber, we feel like we've got a chance to win. She's going to give us everything she's got."
The Redettes had chances to push a run across against Mediapolis, putting runners on base in three of the final five innings including a pair of runners on base in the fourth and the sixth. While Davis kept Centerville in the game in the pitching circle, the Redette junior could not come up with a potential game-tying hit in either the fourth or sixth as Harris forced Davis to fly out to right ending the fourth before striking out Davis in the sixth.
"There was probably a little bit of extra pressure everyone felt all the way around. I know I felt it all day," Belloma said. "They didn't want to disappoint anyone. You can how emotional Kaylee is about this loss. I know it means a lot to her. I'm happy it's taking this toll on her, because it shows that she doesn't want to lose."
Mediapolis, now 17-10, heads to Fairfield on Saturday night for the Class 3A, Region 8 semifinals. The winner of that game faces either Washington or No. 10 West Liberty on Tuesday in the regional finals with a state tournament berth on the line.
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