SIOUX CITY — Olivia Huckfelt’s three-run blast in the top of the seventh inning provided a spark of hope for the Spencer Tigers in the Class 4A Regional semifinal softball matchup against Sioux City Heelan Saturday night; but the rally proved too little, too late, falling to the 30-11 Crusaders, 8-4.

SPENCER — After jumping out to a 5-0 lead in the Class 4A Region 1 quarterfinal matchup Thursday night against Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley, the Tigers saw the momentum slip away temporarily when the Nighthawks rallied with three runs of its own in the top of the third to close the gap. Leading of the bottom of the third inning, senior Izzy Pingel delighted the home crowd when she lined a blast over the right field fence to steal the momentum back and ignite a 13-3 victory in 5 2/3 innings.

STORM LAKE — After dropping a pair of contested Lakes Conference battles to Storm Lake this season, Spencer would have to get past the Tornadoes to move on to the Class 3A Substate semifinal Monday night. The two team would battle on Storm Lake’s field for seven innings Friday, coming down to the final inning.

HINTON — After claiming a two-run advantage in the top of the first, Sioux Central would see their lead cut in half in the bottom half of the frame. The Rebels and Blackhawks would battle back-and-fourth in the see-saw matchup before Hinton put together a five-run, fifth to claim the 9-4 win in Wednesday’s Regional quarterfinal.

After scoring a 3-1 Class 2A Substate quarterfinal win against Southeast Valley at Pocahontas Tuesday, the Rebels would come up a run short against Pocahontas Area Saturday night on the Indians home field, 3-2, to end the season, 15-10.

No additional information was available from Sioux Central Coach Alan Vasher.

The Rebels’ Gibson Olson, Dakota Deuschle, Ethan Johnson and Landon Olson played in their final games.

STORM LAKE — Friday marks the postseason opener for the Spencer Tigers baseball team. The boys will travel to Storm Lake to face the Tornadoes in a Lakes Conference rivalry to open substate play. The winner will face the victor between Sioux Center or MOC-Floyd Valley.

Spencer and the Storm Lake have had two contested games this season, the Tigers falling short in both of them. Storm Lake has had an impressive 19-10 season, but have lost five in a row coming into this game.

The Spencer Tigers, at 23-7 on the season, will host first round of Class 4A Regional play Thursday when the 21-9, Boyden Hull/Rock Valley Nighthawks come to town Thursday. The 4A bracket also includes: Le Mars, Denison, Dallas Center-Grimes and Bishop Heelan.

The Tigers wrapped up their regular season last night against Sergeant Bluff-Luton (after press time), and now shift their focus to Thursday night against the Nighthawks.

STORM LAKE — Friday marks the postseason opener for the Spencer Tigers baseball team. The boys will travel to Storm Lake to face the Tornadoes in a Lakes Conference rivalry to open substate play. The winner will face the victor between Sioux Center or MOC-Floyd Valley.

Spencer and the Storm Lake have had two contested games this season, the Tigers falling short in both of them. Storm Lake has had an impressive 19-10 season, but have lost five in a row coming into this game.

The Fourth of July was a special one for Spencer Golf and Country Club member Tom Roti. Roti played Hole 9, a 129-yard par 3, from the black tees. The green is surrounded by two bunkers on each side of it. Roti pulled out his 9-iron and put it in the cup, scoring his first ever hole-in-one. It was witnessed by Kae Roti. Club Pro Adam Coates congratulated Tom Roti for this achievement. Did you score an ace?

The Spencer Tigers softball team will host Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley Thursday at 7 p.m. in the first round of Class 4A Regional play after closing out the season against Sergeant-Bluff Luton Tuesday (after press deadline). The Tigers wrapped up the week before the holiday weekend hosting the Algona Bulldogs. Spencer got off to a great start scoring three runs in the first inning.

SPENCER — The Spencer Tiger baseball team will travel to Storm Lake Friday to face the 19-8 Tornadoes in the first round of 3A Substate play beginning at 7 p.m., after wrapping up regular season play on the road at Humboldt Tuesday night (after press time). Thursday, Spencer hosted their neighbors to the south, Sioux Central, collecting a 10-0 senior night win to close out the home season.

IRETON — Sioux Central improved to 18-13 with a first round regional victory over the West Sioux Falcons, 11-5, on the road, the Rebels will now take on the Hinton Blackhawks, Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Hinton High School. The winner will face the winner of Ridge View and Alta-Aurelia, Friday, at 7 p.m.

The Tigers had three games on the week, including a pair of Lakes Conference matchups with Western Christian and Spirit Lake. Spencer would also take on MOC-Floyd Valley in the middle of the conference contests. The boys would sweep both conference opponents, but dropped a heartbreaker to the 23-2 Dutch, earning a season split.

WESTERN CHRISTIAN 0, SPENCER 8

The Spencer Tigers wrapped up second place in the Lakes Conference after an undefeated week, besting Western Christian, Sioux City North and Spirit Lake, to finish their conference schedule at 7-2 and improving to 22-7 overall. The girls will host Sergeant Bluff-Luton, Tuesday, at 6:45 p.m., to wrap up the regular season.

WESTERN CHRISTIAN 1, SPENCER 7

Sioux Central improved to 16-12 (8-3) on the season, winning two games against Alta-Aurelia and South O’Brien. The Rebels finished third in the Twin Lakes Conference, behind Newell-Fonda and Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire. Sioux Central will play in the first round of the 2A Regional Tournament Friday against West Sioux at Ireton City Park. First pitch is projected to be at 7 p.m.

ALTA-AURELIA 7, SIOUX CENTRAL 8