The Mid-Prairie softball team has adopted the philosophy of the buffalo.

When a storm is present, the buffalo elects to charge directly through as opposed to an attempt to outrun.

After six games against ranked opponents in a five-day span, the Golden Hawks –  much like the buffalo their team spirit encapsulates – have elected to meet the challenge head on.

“We have had a storm coming at us for a long time,” Mid-Prairie junior Madeline Schrader said after the Golden Hawks upset Class 2A No. 6 Iowa City Regina, 2-1, in a River Valley Conference game Tuesday night at Mid-Prairie Middle School. “It has been hard and we just can’t give up and we have got to run through it because if we turn back, we are going to end up right where we started and there is no time for that any more. Running right through it and we will get big wins like this.”

The storms were no figure of speech on Tuesday as a 90-minute weather delay interrupted the contest after five innings with the Golden Hawks leading, 2-1. When play resumed, Mid-Prairie freshman pitcher Sydney Knebel returned to the circle feeling rejuvenated. With the tying run for Regina on third base in both the sixth and seventh innings, Knebel ended both threats with a strikeout.

“That was a stud move,” Mid-Prairie freshman shortstop Dakota Mitchell said. “That was so good. I can’t even believe it. I am so proud of her right now. She just did so good. She was absolutely amazing.”

Knebel scattered nine hits with two walks and three strikeouts. Her lone blemish on the scoreboard arrived via Regina sophomore Gabby Sueppel, who broke a scoreless tie in the top of the second inning with a solo home run. Knebel responded to the blast with five scoreless innings. 

“I just needed to buckle down and get the job done,” Knebel said. “And then have people behind me really help, too.”

The Mid-Prairie offense delivered its response in the bottom of the third inning. After junior Molly Yoder led off with a walk, Schrader tripled her home to tie the game, then scored the go-ahead run on an infield single from senior Brittany Kinsinger.

“One big thing this year is, ‘Get it back,’” Schrader said. “Which means to get that run back that they got on us, so it is always a goal. That keeps us moving forward.”

The win avenged a June 8 loss at Regina, a game in which the Golden Hawks posted 11 hits but managed just one run.

“I am not very often speechless, but I am a little bit after this game,” first-year Mid-Prairie Coach Amy Hartsock-Williams said. “I am super-excited for these girls and what they just did. Not the first ranked team they have beat, but a really good ranked team.”

The victory was the eighth in 10 contests for Mid-Prairie (14-12, 9-5 River Valley Conference), which followed up the Regina win with a tough loss Wednesday at 2A No. 4 Wilton, which needed a three-run rally in the bottom of the seventh inning to claim an 8-7 win.

“It gives us confidence that we know we can do it,” said Mitchell, who entered Monday as the Mid-Prairie leader with 35 base hits, three triples and 21 runs scored. “We can compete with these good, solid teams and we can come out hard and give them a good game.”

The Golden Hawks sandwiched a pair of wins over Camanche (7-2) and Durant (2-1) around Friday losses to 5A No. 10 Linn-Mar, 4-1, and 3A No. 1 Mount Vernon, 10-2.

With fourteen wins overall, Mid-Prairie has its highest victory total since winning 21 games in 2017. While Hartsock-Williams is quick to praise the commitment of her upperclassmen, those same veterans praise the stability she has brought to a program which has had three head coaches in the past four years.

“She believes in us,” Schrader said. “She always wants more. She expects things from us. She expects us to play at a high level, but she has never asked us to do anything we can’t do and she is always there to pick us back up. She understands that it is hard. She understands we have been pushing for a long time, but she is there for us and she cares about us more than just when we are on the field.”

Mid-Prairie closes the regular season this week with home games against Bellevue and Washington before beginning postseason play with a 3A regional tilt July 6 at No. 11 Chariton.

“All season long, these girls have been charging into the storm,” Hartsock-Williams said. “And we are going to continue to do it.”