ALBURNETT — Six baserunners were stranded in the first three innings. Glass half-empty.
On the other hand, they were getting runners aboard. Glass half-full.
“Honestly, I wasn’t that worried,” said Alburnett’s Allyssa Neighbor. “We usually end up scoring at the end of games. I had complete confidence. We’d done it before.”
And, lo and behold, when crunch time arrived, Alburnett’s cup runneth over.
The 14th-ranked Pirates struck for five late runs and sidelined Maquoketa Valley, 5-1, in a Class 2A first-round regional softball game Thursday night at Alburnett High School.
** For more, read Friday’s Gazette …

North Polk senior Sammy Snygg struck out 12 batters Thursday to become Iowa’s career strikeout leader in softball.
 Snygg’s 12 strikeouts in North Polk’s 9-0 victory over Panorama gives the senior 2,178 career strikeouts, passing the old mark of 2,175, set by Woodward-Granger’s Jen Bice (1995-1999).
It marks the second Iowa high school softball record Snygg has set in the last 10 days. She became Iowa’s career leader in home runs when she hit her 48th career home run on June 29 in North Polk’s 4-0 victory over Bondurant-Farrar, passing Fort Madison’s Erica Martinez.

The A.S.A. 16-inch men’s slow pitch District III tournament begins Friday night at the Kirkwood Softball Complex in Cedar Rapids.
The 13-team field includes top-seed C.J.’s Sports Bar, No. 2 Tailgators, third-seed JV Truck Shine and No. 4 Stadium Lounge.
C.J.’s, the 2007 major state champions, will attempt to win its sixth straight district title and become just the second team since 1966 to accomplish the feat. They would join Union Station, which won seven straight crowns from 1995 to 2001.
Competition is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. with a home run derby …

Jake Ballweg’s philosophy was simple: Why look for something better when you have been introduced to the best?
So, it was no surprise when the Waverly-Shell Rock senior gave an oral commitment to wrestle for University of Iowa Coach Tom Brands and the two-time defending national champion Hawkeyes, becoming the first recruit of their 2010 class.
“Why look for something better when it’s all right there,” Ballweg said. “I’ve always liked Iowa. I could just see myself there easily.”
No other schools were in the running, according to Ballweg. Only Iowa was in …

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North Butler’s softball team needed approximately half an inning to shake loose the postseason jitters during Wednesday’s Class 1A Region Three first round tournament softball game.
The Bearcats settled in quite nicely after a sluggish start in the top of the first. North Butler pounded out eight runs in the bottom of the first, leading to a 13-1 three inning route of Clarksville at Allison.
North Butler, rated third in Class 1A, sent 12 batters to the plate in the bottom of the first. The Bearcats had five hits in …