Nevada Journal sports round-up: Cub boys fall in semifinals at state soccer tournament

The Nevada boys soccer team reached the Class 2A semifinals and the Cub girls fell to the eventual champions in the 1A quarterfinals at Iowa High School Athletic Association and Iowa Girls Athletic Union state soccer tournaments held together last week at the Cownie Soccer Park in Des Moines.

The Nevada boys entered state as the No. 5 seed. They knocked off No. 1 seed Webster City in a 1-0 battle on a penalty kick in the quarterfinals May 30 then lost a 3-2 heartbreaker to No. 1 seed Davenport Assumption in the semifinals June 1.

The Nevada girls were the No. 2 seed in 1A and they dropped a tough 1-0 battle to No. 7 seed Bishop Heelan Catholic in the quarterfinals May 31. Bishop Heelan went on to claim the 1A girls state championship with a 2-0 victory over Gilbert in the championship game Saturday.

The Nevada baseball team suffered a 5-0 loss at South Hamilton May 31 and a 7-2 home setback against Saydel Friday in falling to 1-5 overall and 0-2 in the Heart of Iowa Conference. The Cub softball team picked up its first win of the season May 31 with a 9-8 win at South Hamilton then they fell at home to Saydel by a 7-0 score Friday and suffered losses to BGM (5-3) and Iowa Valley (7-5) at the BGM Tournament to drop to 1-6 overall and 0-4 in the HOIC.

The Colo-NESCO baseball team won at North Tama May 30 in a 17-11 slugfest and at home against GMG in a 5-4 battle May 31. The Royals suffered a 5-1 loss at BCLUW Friday in falling to 5-4 overall and 3-3 in the Iowa Star Conference South Division.

The Colo-NESCO softball team went 4-1 during the week to improve to 5-4 overall and 4-2 in the ISC South. The Royals won at North Tama by a 12-7 score May 30, edged GMG at home in a 10-9 battle May 31 and BCLUW in a 9-8 slugfest at Conrad Friday and split games with South Hardin (a 12-0 loss) and Madrid (a 7-4 win) at the Royal Softball Tournament in McCallsburg Saturday.

Here is what we learned from Nevada and Colo-NESCO high school athletic competition from this past week.

Nevada boys fall just shy of the 2A championship game

The rain delay that hit the boys state soccer tournament just as the first half ended for both 2A semifinal games could not have come at a worse time for Nevada.

The fifth-seeded Cubs were on a roll against No. 1 Assumption. They took a 2-0 lead into the half on an early goal from forward Drew Robinson and a late direct kick by midfielder Kent Sponseller.

But after waiting a couple of hours before play could resume the Cubs came out flat in the second half. They were not able to match the energy of a revitalized Assumption team and the Knights made them pay.

"The weather delay definitely didn't help," Nevada coach Todd Sampson said. "It takes some getting used to field conditions when the ball was slipping and sliding and our two or three guys on the yellow (cards) in the first half doesn't help from a rotation standpoint either."

Sam Burkhart scored Assumption's first goal of the second half and he assisted on the tying goal when he found Roberto Medrano for a score at the 61:32 mark. Medrano found the net again 4 1/2 minutes later to give the Knights their first lead and it held up over the final 14 minutes of the game.

"Incredibly talented group of guys at Assumption," Sampson said. "Technically sound, able to move the ball, possess the ball and create the opportunities they needed to get those three goals."

Nevada finished the season with a 16-5 record. The Cubs' 1-0 quarterfinal win over Webster City on Tuesday was their first state tournament victory in 10 years.

"I couldn't be more proud of this group of seniors and the team," Sampson said. "It was a joy coaching them and they have a lot to be proud of."

Nevada 1, Webster City 0

Nevada got a big measure of redemption in the 2A quarterfinals against Webster City.

The Cubs lost to West Liberty in last year's quarterfinals in double-overtime by a 3-2 score on a penalty kick. They turned the tables on Webster City on Tuesday as Drew Robinson scored the game's only goal on a penalty kick in the 63rd minute.

"I feel like we deserved it because last year that fluke penalty at the end ended our season," Robinson said. "This year we got one. It kind of levels out."

Robinson, who now has 40 goals on the season, was in his comfort zone during the PK.

"I've taken every PK this year for our team," Robinson said. "I go to the same spot every time and it's pretty much an un-gettable spot for a keeper if I hit it right."

Nevada midfielder Edgar Cabrera said the Cubs showed great poise after Webster City came out and took it to them for most of the first half.

"They came out and surprised us a little bit," Cabrera said. "But once we were settled in, figured who their players were, what they like to do and we were able to shut it down and put passes together and find open spots."

Nevada is looking forward to its shot at No. 1 Assumption in the semifinals Thursday.

"I think we're ready for it," Cabrera said. "We've played pretty well and if we start out strong we'll have ourselves a good game."

Webster City finished the season with a 14-2 record.

Tough break costs Nevada girls in hard-fought quarterfinal game

Bishop Heelan may have been the underdog against Nevada, but the Crusaders played lights out to pull off the upset.

Bishop Heelan controlled possession for most of the first half and at the 10:34 mark, the Crusaders caught a break. Midfielder Jada Newberg managed to slip a ball past the Nevada defense and Cubs keeper Joslynn Farmer for what turned out to be the game's only goal.

"They had one that bounced in front of us," said Nevada coach Randy Davis. "That's a tough one. But they earned it by putting that pressure on us."

Nevada played better in the second half, but the Cubs could not string enough good runs together to break through the Crusader defense.

"It was a hard-fought game," Davis said. "We always say we're not going to hang our heads. We're going to bounce back and we're going to be here again next year."

Nevada finished its 11th-straight season with a state tournament appearance at 14-4.

Nevada baseball team struggles to get its bats going in losses

The Nevada baseball team had a tough time pushing runs across the plate against South Hamilton and Saydel.

In the loss to South Hamilton the Cubs were held to four hits. Anthony Eaton hit a double and Karter Beving, Colton Leslie and Drake Hinson each singled once.

Beving was the losing pitcher despite only allowing two earned runs on three hits with eight strikeouts and two walks in four innings.

The Cubs scored both of their runs against Saydel in the first inning and then their bats went silent the rest of the night.

Nevada had six hits against the Eagles. Beving was 3-for-3 with three steals and an RBI, Jackson Burlage singled and scored and Eaton and Easton Gray each singled once. Burlage took the loss after surrendering four earned runs on five hits and four walks with six strikeouts in three innings.

Big rally gets Cub softball team past South Hamilton

The Nevada softball team earned its first win of the season in dramatic fashion.

The Cubs came back from an 8-4 deficit with a five-run seventh inning to steal the victory from the Hawks. Mya Spykerman was the winning pitcher after giving up eight unearned runs on 13 hits and three walks with six strikeouts going all seven innings.

Kylie Taylor, Jorie Hillman and Paige Handsaker lead Nevada at the plate. Taylor was 3-for-3 with three steals, two runs and an RBI, Hillman went 2-for-3 with four steals and three runs and Handsaker finished 2-for-3 with a double, run and two RBIs.

Joslynn Farmer hit a double and stole a base, Maycie Mailey hit a single, Spykerman walked twice and scored two runs, Avery Hinson picked up two RBIs and Meagan McGaffin scored a run for the Cubs.

Big fourth inning lifts Colo-NESCO baseball team past North Tama

The Colo-NESCO baseball team exploded for 10 runs in the fourth inning during its victory over North Tama.

The big inning gave the Royals a 14-7 leadand they easily held off a late Redhawk surge for the win. Colo-NESCO took advantage of a whopping 15 walks issued by the North Tama pitching staff and the Royals also had eight hits.

Trenton Beard was 2-for-4 with a double and three runs and RBIs apiece, Landon Gjerde was 2-for-2 with two walks, runs and RBIs apiece and Spencer Hansen doubled, scored and drove in a run for Colo-NESCO. Kaleb Gray also collected two hits and Clay Gilmore scored four runs.

Hansen was the winning pitcher after giving up four earned runs on five hits and three walks with eight strikeouts in four innings.

Drew Banks got the win against GMG. Banks allowed one unearned run on one hit and five walks with six strikeouts in five innings.

Gray had two hits and RBIs apiece, Breckin Clatt two hits, one RBI and two steals and Harrington one hit and two RBIs versus the Wolverines. Hansen added a single and Beard walked twice and scored two runs.

In the loss to BCLUW the Royals were held to five hits. Gray doubled and drove in a run, Clatt singled, walked and scored the lone Colo-NESCO run and Beard, Harrington and Gjerde each singled once.

Beard took the loss against the Comets. He gave up three earned runs on five hits and walks apiece with one strikeout in six innings.

Molly Angell sparks big offensive week for Royal softball team

The Colo-NESCO softball team averaged just under 10 runs during its four victories last week.

The Royals had 11 hits in their victory over North Tama. Molly Angell led the way by going 3-for-5 with two doubles and four runs, Abigail Hostetler was 3-for-4 and Anabelle Nessa was 2-for-5 with a double and three RBIs.

Katie Spalding also tripled, scored and drove in a run and Callie Kohlwes and Jasmine Johannes both singled and drove in two runs for Colo-NESCO. Nessa was the winning pitcher after giving up two earned runs on 10 hits with seven strikeouts and just one walk going all seven innings.

Colo-NESCO had seven hits from seven different players during its victory over GMG. The Royals scored six times in the third inning to take control and after GMG tied the game they pushed the winning run across in the sixth.

Spalding and Riley Handsaker both tripled and scored and Handsaker also picked up an RBI versus the Wolverines. Kohlwes doubled, scored and drove in a run, Angell went 1-for-4 with two runs, Johannes finished 1-for-3 with a run, Rylee Upchurch was 1-for-3 with an RBI and Cassidy Muschick added a single.

Nessa got the win in relief against GMG after throwing two scoreless and hitless innings with three strikeouts.

Colo-NESCO withstood a five-run seventh inning by BCLUW to get past the Comets.

Angell was 3-for-4 with two triples and three runs, Nessa 3-for-4 with and Upchurch 2-for-3 with three RBIs versus BCLUW. Handsaker went 1-for-3 with two runs and RBIs apiece, Hostetler and Katherine Rouse were both 1-for-3 with an RBI and Kohlwes singled once.

Nessa again picked up the win after surrendering five earned runs on 10 hits and striking out 11 batters with no walks in 6 1/3 innings.

The Royals handled Madrid at their home tournament despite finishing with just two hits. They were helped out by nine walks from the Madrid pitching staff.

Kohlwes singled, walked and scored twice and Angell singled, walked and scored one run. Nessa, Upchurch, Johannes and Rouse each drove in one run against the Tigers.

Nessa was the victorious pitcher against Madrid. She went the distance again, allowing three earned runs on three hits and one walk with seven strikeouts.

In the loss to South Hardin the Royals did not get a single runner on base against Tiger pitcher Hailey Rosonke in the shortened three-inning affair. Kohlwes took the loss after allowing eight earned runs on 11 hits with one strikeout and no walks.

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Nevada boys and girls come up short at state soccer tournaments