POST-GAME HUGS — North Union on-deck batter Vanessa Von Bank (13) gives celebratory hugs to Warrior teammates Cassie Beadle (middle) and Sam Nielsen after they scored the respective winning and tying runs in the bottom of the seventh inning during Friday night’s Iowa Class 2A, Region 1 softball semifinal game in Swea City. North Union defeated Western Christian, 4-3. (Photo by Greg Abel)

SWEA CITY — North Union sophomore cleanup hitter Emily Meyer’s 37th and 38th RBIs of the season Friday night proved the most important of her already outstanding prep softball career.

Meyer drilled a walk-off, two-run single to the right-center gap with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning to plate Sam Nielsen and Cassie Beadle to pace the Iowa Class 2A No. 8-ranked Warriors’ 4-3 cardiac comeback Region 1 semifinal win over Western Christian.

North Union (28-4) advances to the regional championship game against Sioux Central (21-6) at 7 p.m. Monday night in Swea City. Taylor Krager recorded seven strikeouts in firing a four-hit complete-game shutout to engineer Sioux Central’s 3-0 regional semifinal win over Ridge View.

Trailing 3-2 due to Wolfpack leadoff batter Josie Zeutenhorst’s solo home run in the first inning and her ensuing two-run double in the fifth, Nielsen utilized her state track speed to create the Warriors’ last comeback bid in the bottom of the seventh.

With one out, Nielsen chopped a grounder to Western Christian third baseman Olivia TenKley, who fired across the diamond for the apparent second out. The third base umpire, however, ruled the grounder “dead” via a foul off Nielsen’s cleats.

Nielsen capitalized on her second chance and legged out an infield hit to third, swiped second base and wheeled to third base to create a defensive dilemma for Western Christian.

“I heard our coach (Kim Price) say that nobody was covering third (base) during the first pitch to Cassie (Beadle), so I stole third,” said Nielsen, who walked and scored the Warriors’ initial run on Meyer’s dropped infield fly in the fifth.

The Wolfpack then opted for a “defensive indifference” approach to handling back-to-back bunts by Beadle and Olivia Von Bank to load the bases for the hard-hitting Meyer with still only one out.

Meyer, who finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs, drilled Wolfpack hurler Jadyn Faber’s delivery into the right-center gap to plate Nielsen and Beadle for the 4-3 comeback victory.

“When I was standing in the on-deck circle, I decided I wasn’t going to take the first pitch. I was going to swing and go for it,” said Meyer. “I figured if I drove it to the outfield, the least we could do was score one run to tie it.”

Ironically, Meyer also overcame the initial shock of giving up a rare HR to open the regional semifinal in Swea City. Zeutenhorst hammered a Meyer fastball over the center-field fence and just under the scoreboard for a solo blast in the top of the first inning.

“I’ve never given up a leadoff home run at the very beginning of a game, so I was a bit stunned,” said Meyer, who finished the playoff game with a game-best nine strikeouts. “I really didn’t get back into a (pitching) groove until I pitched a 1-2-3 second inning.”

The hard-throwing Meyer then retired 12 of the next 13 Wolfpack batters before Emilee Heynen legged out a bunt hit to open the top of the fifth. Keana Wynja kept Western Christian alive with a two-out single before pinch runner Adelle Wolfswinkel and Wynja scored on Zeutenhorst’s two-run double over the right fielder’s head. North Union shortstop Olivia Von Bank, however, erased Zeutenhorst — who tried to stretch the hit into a triple — with a perfect relay throw to third.

The Warriors plated a solo run in the bottom of the fourth and added another run in the fifth to inch within 3-2 of the Wolfpack.

Nielsen walked, Beadle legged out a bunt hit and Olivia Von Bank singled to load the bases in the fifth. Meyer lofted a popup into shallow left that the Western Christian shortstop dropped, allowing the fleet-footed Nielsen to score.

Meyer singled to trigger the Warriors’ fourth at-bat before courtesy runner Libby Stevens took second base on a passed ball and wheeled to third on Vanessa Von Bank’s sacrifice bunt.

Shelby Fraker reached on a dropped third strike before Naomi Jones dropped down a perfect RBI suicide-squeeze bunt to plate Stevens.

Meyer struck out nine, walked one and allowed three earned runs on four hits in seven innings pitched to earn the complete-game victory.

Faber allowed four runs — two earned — on eight hits, struck out four and walked only one in 6 1/3 innings of work to take the loss for Western Christian, which ended the season with an 11-14 record.

WC 100 020 0 — 3 4 2

NU 000 110 2 — 4 8 0

Winning run scored with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Jadyn Faber (LP) and Hanna Kollis. Emily Meyer (WP) and Shelby Fraker.

LOB–North Union 8, Western Christian 1. 2B–Josie Zeutenhorst (WC). HR–Josie Zeutenhorst (WC). SAC–Cassie Beadle (NU), Vanessa Von Bank (NU), Olivia Von Bank (NU), Naomi Jones (NU).