DES MOINES — For a short while Saturday, it looked as if Harlan Community’s surprising run to the Class 3-A championship game was destined to include an improbable ending.

Then the Cyclones made a couple of mistakes, allowing No. 1 Solon to take over.

Marshall Koehn’s two-run triple highlighted a four-run third inning that carried the Spartans to a 6-1 victory over Harlan at Principal Park. Solon (39-4), the 2-A champion a year ago, became only the second team in Iowa history to win a second straight title after moving up a class.

The Cyclones (21-15) jumped on top 1-0 on Derek Schwartz’s RBI single in the first inning. But a leadoff walk and mishandled bunt set the tables for Koehn’s heroics in the Spartan third.

“You can’t make any mistakes against them,” Harlan coach Steve Daeges said. “We could not keep the pressure on. That third inning was too big for them.”

Solon tacked on insurance runs in the fourth and seventh innings while equaling the feat of Kee High, which won the 1-A title in 1980 and the 2-A crown the following year.

Spartan ace Brandon Shulista struck out nine Cyclones, including the side in the seventh, to cap his perfect season on the mound at 10-0. He allowed only four hits and one walk.

Harlan’s run in the first, which was set up by Alex Brown’s two-out double, was the first earned run off Shulista since June 8. He had thrown more than 30 innings since.

The Cyclones did put two runners on in the fifth, but Shulista got Brown to tap back to the mound to end the threat. He went on to retire Harlan’s final six in order.

Brown suffered the loss for the Cyclones, his first of the season. He breezed through the first two innings before walking Austin Dall on an eight-pitch at-bat to open the third.

No. 9 hitter Travis Brimeyer followed with a bunt down the third-base line. Harlan’s Lucas Musich charged the ball but couldn’t field it cleanly. Koehn’s triple came on the next pitch.

“They’re a good hitting ball club,” Brown said. “They came out swinging.”

As the only ranked team to make the 3-A tournament, Solon was a heavy favorite to win its second consecutive championship. However, the Spartans found some extra motivation in facing a powerful athletic program with successes measurable to their own.

“We certainly understood the rich athletic tradition of Harlan,” Solon coach Keith McSweeney said. “There’s a rich tradition of success there with championships. It certainly did make it special. And, in a way, it got us focused.”

The Cyclones, who entered Saturday on a five-game winning streak after a 16-14 regular season, certainly came ready to play in the title game. And although his team came up short, Daeges applauded the effort of his players in their underdog role.

“I was really proud of the way we played throughout the game,” he said. “It wasn’t like we were in awe of them. But you could see how solid they are from top to bottom.”

Solon (39-4)...............004 100 1—6 6 1
Harlan (21-15).............100 000 0—1 4 2
W: Brandon Shulista, 10-0. L: Alex Brown, 5-1. 2B: S, Austin Dall. H, Brown. 3B: S, Marshall Koehn.

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