Cyclones go down swinging in regional loss

 GLENWOOD -- Following a regular season marred by injuries and inconsistency, the Harlan Community softball team refused to go down without a fight in its final game.
 Putting together perhaps their best all-around performance of the summer, the Cyclones scored first and battled back twice in Thursday’s Class 4-A regional quarterfinal, but ultimately came up about one hit short in a 7-5 loss at Glenwood.
 Senior Logan Schaben’s two-run homer cut the Rams’ lead in half to start the top of the seventh and HCHS put the tying runs on base with one out before Glenwood pitcher Lyndie VanNess induced a pair of fly-ball outs to end the game.
 The Rams improved to 21-12 overall and also won 2-1 at Lewis Central on Saturday, advancing to play in Tuesday night’s regional final at 14th-ranked Creston (23-11). The Panthers upset No. 2 Winterset, 3-1, on Saturday night.
 HCHS, which split regular-season doubleheaders with both regional finalists, closed the season at 13-23 but played much better than its record on Thursday.