MORAVIA — It at times appeared defense was the only thing that could keep Twin Cedars from advancing in the regional softball tournament.

In the end, defense kept the Sabers’ season from ending.

Twin Cedars made up for five errors throughout the Class 1A regional semifinal with Moravia Friday with several key plays that completely changed the momentum of the contest. Among those plays included throwing out two runners at home plate — the second of which was the first of two straight runners thrown out on the same play — as the Sabers held off several late threats by the Mohawks to earn a 5-3 win at Lady Mohawk Field.

“That’s what you do when you play good, fundamental defense,” Twin Cedars coach Zack Dunkin said. “It doesn’t happen very often, but the kids are very capable of making those plays. It’s all starting to come together right now.”

Twin Cedars (23-14) will look to complete their season with the same promise it began with. After starting the season as one of 15 preseason ranked squads in Class 1A, the Sabers have plenty of confidence heading to Chariton Monday night looking to  knock off No. 3 Martensdale-St. Mary’s for Region 6’s berth to the Class 1A state softball tournament.

“We can do it. I know can we can do it,” Twin Cedars center fielder Brittany Roby said. “We just got to keep our heads in it, make the right plays and we’ll be going to Fort Dodge.”

No play was bigger Friday than the play started by Roby in the sixth after Moravia put their first two runners on base down just 4-3. Emily Moore then lined a potential game-tying hit to center as Cheyenne Rowley looked to score from second.

Roby instead threw a one-hop strike to catcher Brooke Dunkin, who took the ball and contact from Rowley to score one out. Dunkin then threw a strike to third to easily catch Kendall Brown trying to advance from second, leading to a game-changing double-play.

“I was just praying that Brooke was blocking the plate enough and she did what she was supposed to,” Roby said of the play. “She got the tag, threw a strike to third and got us the outs that we needed.”

The exhilarating play for the Sabers was yet another deflating moment for Moravia. The Mohawks stranded six runners in scoring position over the final five innings while having three tagged out on the basepaths, bringing a successful season to a tough end for Moravia head coach Jared Power.

“I’m not in the business of getting runners thrown out at home, but in those instances I thought we had great chances to score,” Power said in the wake of the end to a 19-10 season for Moravia. “It’s frustrating to strand runners at second and third and have other runners tagged out.

“You give Twin Cedars credit,” he added. “They made the plays when they had to. They also gave us chances, but we just couldn’t make them pay for it.”

While it was their defense that protected a slim lead, the bats of Twin Cedars established themselves immediately against all-state Moravia pitcher Annie Moore. Kassidy Swanye delivered an early blow, driving Moore’s seventh pitch of the night over the left field fence for her second homer of the season.

“I didn’t really expect to see a pitch like that,” Swayne said. “(Moore) usually throws rise balls and I struggle with those, but when I saw that (off-speed) pitch coming in I knew I had to attack it.

“I didn’t think it was gone. I thought it might just get to the fence. I didn’t know it was out until I heard everybody cheering.”

The Sabers didn’t let up against Moore, using a ground-rule double by Roby to double the lead. While her defensive skills helped preserve a lead, Roby improved on her state-leading .661 batting average by going 3-for-4 with a double, and a triple; producing runs with all three hits.

As a team, Twin Cedars produced five extra-base hits and overcame a poor second inning of defense, which saw a pair of errors lead to three go-ahead runs for Moravia. The Sabers took the lead for good after Ayla Crosby scored on Taylor Smith’s two-out single.

“They’re definitely the most athletically-gifted team we see all year in our conference,” Power said of the Sabers. “They’ve got girls with state track speed and girls that really do everything fundamentally well at the plate.”

Moore fought through the big hits of the Sabers and struck out 10 batters in what proved to be her final appearance as a Moravia’s ace pitcher. The next softball game for Moore will be as an Evansville Ace next spring.

“Nobody works as hard as Annie. She’s been a blessing to have as a head coach,” Power said. “We are certainly going to miss her leadership, but we’ve got great players coming back. It will be a different-looking team without her, though.”

CLASS 1A, REGION 6 SEMIFINALS

Twin Cedars 5, Moravia 3

T.C.    201    100    1    —    5    10    5         

Mor.     030    000    0    —    3    6    0

Twin Cedars battery — Mackenzie Sedlock (W, 11-4) (7IP, 6H, 3R, 2K, BB), Brooke Dunkin catching.

2B — Alee Hugen, Brittney Roby.

3B — Ayla Crosby, Roby.

HR — Kassidy Swayne.

Hits — Roby 3-4, Taylor Smith 2-3, Dunkin 2-4, Crosby 1-3, Swayne 1-3, Hugen 1-4.

RBI — Roby 2, Hugen, Smith, Swayne.

Runs — Crosby, Dunkin, Samantha Hammann, Roby, Swayne.

Moravia battery — Annie Moore (L, 16-7) (7IP, 10H, 5R, 5ER, 10K), Abby Wilson catching.

2B — Katelynn Tracy, Wilson.

Hits — Wilson 2-3, Cheyanne Rowley 1-2, Kendall Brown 1-3, Emily Moore 1-3, Tracy 1-4.

Runs — Brooklyn Benjamin, Rowley, Sam Williams.