Sports : Carlisle earns 12th trip to State with 7-0 win over V-S

Center fielder Devon Ankney squeezes a fly ball for an out.

Vikette SS Bethany Stainbrook tags a Wildcat runner who tried to steal second base.

Rachel Clemens records her final hit as a high school player.

Bailey Lyons

Maddie Cornell had two of the Vikettes' three hit vs. Carlisle.

Brea Burroughs throws to first after fielding a grounder.

Vikette infielders gather at the pitcher's mound before each defensive inning.

Maddie Cornell faces the first batter in her final game as Vikette.

The Carlisle softball team welcomes visitors to its field with a large red and white sign listing 11 years the team has made it to the State Tournament since 1993, and the four times the Wildcats have been State Champions. Under the scoreboard is gold sign listing the 15 times the team has won its conference since 1989.

On the field, Wildcat players keep showing visiting teams why.

The latest students in this outdoor classroom were the Vinton-Shellsburg Vikettes, who made the two-hour drive to this community south of Des Moines hoping for an upset of the 4th-ranked team in Class 4A and its very first trip to the State Tournament. (The 2008 Vikettes lost to Carlisle, 3-0, in ten innings in the Regional final.)

The Vikettes, who were the official “home team,” gave up one run in the first, yet held the Wildcats close for three innings. But Carlisle batters banged out five hits in the fourth, adding four runs; they also scored two in the top of the seventh and defeated VS, 7-0.

The Vikettes managed just three hits against Wildcat pitching, along with one walk and two VS players who reached first after being hit by a pitch. Sophomore Shyanne Dubois struck out six Vikettes in five innings, while freshman Wildcat Gabby Schnathorst struck out four in two innings. Only two of the Carlisle starters are seniors.

VS pitcher Maddie Cornell had two hits, and catcher Rachel Clemens, one. The Vikettes end their season with a 24-16 record. Carlisle advances to State with a record of 32-7.