Bishop Heelan edges Le Mars for state softball berth - KTIV News 4 Sioux City IA: News, Weather and Sports

Bishop Heelan is going back to the Iowa girls state softball tournament for the fourth year in a row. The ninth-ranked Crusaders edged Le Mars, 2-1, in a Class 4A regional final on Tuesday at West High.

The Crusaders jumped in front with two runs in the first inning. Krissy Neumann and Makayla Augustine had RBI basehits to make it 2-0.

Le Mars (28-10) scored their only run on an RBI single from Madison Heidebrink in the sixth inning.

"You can't really get nervous out there," said Heelan junior pitcher Larissa Uhl. "You have to keep calm. You can't let the other team see that you're down or frustrated or anything like that. You just have to keep calm for your teammates and know that you'll get through it together."

"Oh, it's so exciting. I can't even explain it," said Heelan junior Makayla Augustine. "It's so much fun. We have a lot of unfinished business down there that we need to take care of.  We're excited to go back but it's not over yet."

"It means we have a tough team," said Heelan senior Krissy Neumann. "Two big contests, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  We're going to have to win those type of games down at the state tournament so why not play them in districts and get ourselves ready?"

The Crusaders (31-6) will play second-ranked Dallas Center-Grimes (33-5) in the first round at the state tournament. That game will be Tuesday, July 17th, at 3:00 PM in Fort Dodge.