By Ty Reynolds treynolds@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5554

LANARK The last 2 years, the Milledgeville Missiles have made runs to the Class 1A state softball tournament because of several factors not the least of which was taking advantage of opportunities their opponents presented them with.

But the defending 1A state champions got a taste of their own medicine Tuesday afternoon in the semifinals of the Eastland Regional.

The Newman Comets made Missile mental and physical miscues hurt in a 6-5 victory in Lanark.

"They did what we've been doing the last 2 years," Milledgeville senior Courtney Swalve said. "It felt like they had the answer for every mistake we made, and they took advantage of everything we gave them."

Whether it was taking an extra base the Comets did that five times in the first three innings or finding the gaps in the Missiles defense thanks to some perfectly-placed hits, Newman (14-11) put the pressure on Milledgeville (20-7) throughout the game, and responded better in nearly every situation.

"We put up a great fight today, and it was an all-around game," Newman junior Julie Hurd said. "Our outfield made some nice plays, our infield got the job done, and both our pitchers threw strikes. We also hit the ball well, and hit it in a lot of places where they weren't."

Facing a 2-0 deficit before their first at-bat, the Comets took the momentum back quickly. Hurd stole home on a bases-loaded pickoff attempt at second in the first inning, then Newman took its first lead on Hurd's two-out, two-run triple to left in the second.

Tied 3-3 in the bottom of the third, the Comets sent nine hitters to the plate and got an RBI single from Lakyn Waldschmidt and a run-scoring fielder's choice from Sam Miller before Hurd drew a bases-loaded walk.

"The intangibles are what won us this game," Newman coach JD Waldschmidt said. "We took advantage of every opportunity laid out in front of us, and that's an area we've seen tremendous improvement in throughout the season."

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Comets take advantage of Missiles' miscues in semifinal