The Highland Huskies are going to state, but after a heart stopping seventh inning in which the play of the year ended the game.

Highland beat Pella Christian 11-10 in the regional final at Washington, and led the entire game.

The first inning was a feel out inning for both teams, with the Huskies sending eight batters to the plate and scoring four runs off three Pella Christian errors. The Eagles scored two runs in the first to make the score 4-2 after one, but they wouldn’t see home plate for awhile.

Leading off the second inning was Jordan Rath and she launched a ball to left center field for a solo shot to make it 5-2. Katie Springer threw a beauty of a game for the next four innings, striking out four and sitting down the Eagles in short order for four straight innings.

The Huskies were the benefactors of six Pella Christian errors in the third and fourth innings where Highland scored six runs off of just three hits. Morgan Craig had one of the three hits on a two RBI double to make the lead 11-2 Huskies, but the lead wasn’t safe enough. Highland had the chance to end the game in the fifth and sixth early with just one run, but they failed to score in the last three, and Pella Christian got desperate. The Eagles scored two runs in the sixth to make it 11-4, and then it was the big inning.

In the seventh, Katie Springer started it off with a strikeout for one down, then a pinch hitter came in and hit a single to reach base for the Eagles, then a double by Tessa Howerzyl put two on in scoring position, but an RBI ground out by Abby Pleima put two down and a 11-5 score, and then things got scary. Four singles and a double added five more runs with the tying run on second, the winning run at the plate and the Eagles batting through the order. Springer threw into a full count on Natalie Vos before she drove a ball to center field, Kelsey Hora fielded it and Taylor Hartson was sent home, rounding third Hora came up throwing and Courtnee Hahn was blocking the plate, made the frozen rope grab, dropped her hands, made the tag as she was run into, held onto the ball and the Huskies were going to state.

Highland head coach Carrie Wieland talked after the game with happy tears in her eyes, and still a little shaken about what it means to go, and the final inning.

“I think the girls did what they were supposed to do at the beginning, and I think that they got a little bit nervous toward the middle of the game when they started putting the ball into play, but nobody did anything really wrong, and ‘Peanut’ [Kelsey Hora] has been throwing that ball all practice and doing it all of the time, so I’m really proud of her and Courtnee hanging on to that ball,” Wieland said. “It was a good way to end it, but I wish it had been better and not having to be that tight.”

Morgan Craig was the top bat for Highland, going 2-3 with two runs and two RBI’s, while Hahn was 0-3 with three runs. Springer went all seven and allowed 11 hits, 10 runs, all earned and fanned nine.

Highland will play the first round of the state playoffs on Tuesday against Saint Ansgar.