(Audubon, IA) The Audubon Wheelers took down East Sac County 9-0 on Wednesday to stay alive and advance to the third round of tournament play. The Wheelers were fueled to victory by Riley Miller who threw seven shutout innings and 13 strikeouts. In the batter’s box, senior Mattie Nielsen added a home run for Audubon as the Wheelers scored four in the bottom of the second inning and kept piling on the pressure.
Head coach Andrea Schwery thought they set the tone early.
The Wheelers will now prepare to play Ridge View, who upset North Union 10-1 to advance the regional semifinal. The Raptors come into the game with a record of 19-10 on the season and 14 home runs as a team. The team is also stout defensively, holding a team ERA of 2.73.
Schwery knows they will have to be prepared for anything in this next game.
With a mix of Audubon and Exira-EHK athletes, they have different postseason experiences. Audubon’s season came to an end after playing the Spartans a year ago in the second round, and before this season, the Wheelers have only had three winning seasons in the last 15 years. A total difference from senior Gemini Goodwin, who has made it to four straight regional finals before this season. Schwery was the head coach in all four regional finals but hasn’t been able to get over the hump.
Schwery doesn’t want her team to be overwhelmed by the moment.
Audubon will play Ridge View on Friday in Audubon starting at 7:00 p.m.
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