AGWSR's Barrick shuts down Rebels, Cougars to regional semis

   ACKLEY – The AGWSR softball team just needed a break.
   A frantic final two weeks of the regular season left the Cougars missing out on some rest and relaxation, something AGWSR finally got a taste of after finishing the regular season slate with a four-game tournament at Don Bosco.
   The Cougars were refreshed and ready to go Wednesday, beginning regional play with a 12-0, four-inning victory over Gladbrook-Reinbeck to advance in the Class 1A Region 6 bracket.
   Class 1A No. 8 AGWSR will host BGM in a regional semifinal in Ackley at 7 p.m. on Friday. BGM defeated Don Bosco 5-0.
   Taryan Barrick threw a four-inning no-hitter in the pitcher’s circle, coming up one pitch away from a perfect game as a pitch got away from her in the fourth inning and plunked G-R’s Reagan Skovgard.
   Barrick had seen limited time in competition down the home stretch as she battled with tendonitis in her throwing elbow.
   “She looked good tonight,” AGWSR co-head coach Scott O’Brien said. “Didn’t want her to try to get too fancy, just throw strikes and if they hit it, they hit it – she ended up with a no-hitter anyway. She’ll go home and ice and we’ll let her arm rest until Friday and she should be in good shape for that.”
   Josie Winterberg was 2 for 2 at the plate and Makenna Kuper drove in two runs with a double as the Cougars burst the game open with back-to-back five-run innings in the second and third frames, taking advantage of several Rebel errors in the infield. Anna Jaspers, Ali Gerbracht and Addi Johnson all added one RBI each.
   G-R’s season ended at 1-23, just two days after winning its first game of the season, a 13-2 romp over Hudson where Rebel coach Paula Kelley said her team “put it all together.”
   “[The Cougars] are a tough team,” Kelley added with regard to Wednesday’s matchup. “We had to have the top of our lineup set the tone and we just weren’t able to do that tonight.”
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Class 2A Region 3
BCLUW 16, APLINGTON-PARKERSBURG 0 (3 INN.): Samantha Ubben and Kate Goecke drove in two runs each and Leah Yantis went 4 for 4 and was one of five Comets with a two-bagger in the victory over the Falcons in Conrad on Wednesday.
BCLUW, ranked 12th in 2A, will welcome South Hamilton to Conrad on Friday night at 7 p.m. for a regional semifinal.
WATERLOO COLUMBUS 11, GRUNDY CENTER 2: The 2A No. 5 Sailors advanced to the next round on the other side of the bracket with the victory over the Spartans in Waterloo.
Columbus will play Ogden in a regional semifinal on Friday.
Grundy Center's season ends at 7-18.