With two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning of the Class 1A, Section 4 title game on Tuesday, Kimball was an out away from advancing to its first state tournament in school history.
Cubs junior reliever Emily Utecht fired a pitch that a West Lutheran batter connected with, but the ball didn't get far as Utecht reached her glove into the air to snag the bouncing shot.
A grin stretched across Utecht's face as she turned to throw to first base for the easy out, and when first basemen Katie Merchant caught the toss to end the game, the rest of Utecht's teammates exploded with jubilation.
Screams and excitement filled the softball field at Northwestern College as the No. 1-seeded Cubs defeated the No. 2-seeded Warriors 1-0 to secure the section championship.
“I think this (Kimball) team is just as good as the New Life Academy team that won (a state title) last year,” West Lutheran coach Bill Vollbrecht said. “To me, they are the favorite to win it this year.”
With the score 0-0 in the bottom of the third inning, it was a play at the plate that notched Kimball's lone run.
Standing on third, junior Kari Schiefelbein saw her opportunity to steal home and went for it.
"She got a good jump, but it was her head-first slide that scored it," Kimball coach Eric Primus said. "It was a real nice play by the baserunner."
Warriors freshman pitcher Afton Zemke didn't allow an earned run and pitched a complete game, but took the loss as West Lutheran struggled to produce offense and finished with just two hits.
Merchant struck out eight and registered the win for the Cubs while Utecht took over in the fifth inning and earned the save.
“We would not be here without our two pitchers,” Primus said. “They’ve done a great job all year keeping hitters off balance."
