Top-seed Linn entered Monday’s Class 2, District 3 semifinals against Eugene with a goal of returning to the championship game. The Lady Wildcats accomplished that with a 5-3 win over the Lady Eagles after settling down a bit at the plate.

“We were swinging at high stuff, and anytime we do that, especially with the wind blowing in, we’re just going to hit little floater fly balls,” said Coach Ryan Rost. “We finally started forcing her to throw down, and we swung at pitches in our zone.”

Kenzy Hackmann (2-3, double, triple, 2 RBI) led off the first with a double to set the stage for Linn. Emma Starke (2-3, double, RBI) followed two batters later with a single to center field to drive in Hackmann.

In the second, Emma Monnette (1-3) delivers a hard-hit single to left field with one out. Kylie Peters (1-3) followed with a single to push Monnette to third. With courtesy runner Paige Senevey entering for Peters, K. Hackmann returned to the plate with two outs and two aboard. She crushed the ball to right field for a triple, clearing the bases for a 3-0 lead. Unfortunately, Hackmann was stranded at third.

“We started hitting some really good line drives,” said Rost. “We just have to piece together an entire game and not an inning here and there. But Eugene’s pitcher did really well. She worked inside-out, made us swing at pitches that necessarily weren’t ours, and made us work for it. I knew that this one was going to be a tough one going into it.”

Eugene scored two runs in the top of the third to cut the lead to one, but Linn used the bottom of the frame to regain a two-run lead.

Elli Dudenhoeffer (1-3) led with a single, but the next two batters went down quickly. Dudenhoeffer moved to second on a ground-out and third on a passed ball. She came home on an error that allowed Ava Warren to reach for a 4-2 lead.

Linn’s final run came in the bottom of the fourth. Kiana Hostetler (1-2) hit a lead-off double, and K. Hackmann walked to join her on the bases. Sophie Voss (2-4, RBI) stepped in with a double to plate Hostetler, but Hackmann was again stranded.

Entering the tournament after a first-round bye can be unsettling for some players, but Rost said the Lady Cats handled it well. “Our success last year helped us out a lot with that,” Rost noted. “Last year, we came in, had a lot of nerves, and did some things that young players do, but I think we’re a lot more disciplined this year. We had opportunities to get rattled, but we didn’t allow it.”

Warren started the game and struck out five while walking three in five innings. She allowed three earned runs on four hits. Voss pitched the final two innings, striking out one and walking another but allowing no runs or hits.

Rost said he wanted to give Eugene a different look in explaining his decision to change pitchers. “I knew there was a chance the top of the lineup was going to be coming back up in the seventh, especially if we got through the sixth inning,” he said. “They both have pitched great all year. Sophie had some success against them a couple of weeks ago in the regular season. I figured let’s give them a different point of view, but I have faith to put both those girls in at any given moment. It’s amazing to have that kind of flexibility with two solid pitchers.”

Linn advanced to play Iberia in the district championship game on Tuesday. A full report will be presented next week.