Raiders survive late North Polk rally, defeat Class 4A No. 1

WILLIAMSBURG — If there’s one takeaway from all the postseason success that the Williamsburg softball team has had in recent years, it’s that they come prepared and battle tested.

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The Raiders (Class 3A) scheduled multiple games against Class 4A and Class 5A schools last year.

“It’s important to play challenging games. We know we might not win them all, but these games will help them play better,” Raider head coach Adam Berte said.

This remains the case this season as the Class 3A No. 1 ranked Raiders faced off against 4A No. 1 North Polk in a late Saturday morning matchup at the Jim Turner Classic.

“I thought it was our best game overall so far this season,” Berte said.

“We faced a good pitcher, battled and capitalized on quality at bats.”

The Raiders drew first blood in the top of the first after a hit in the infield by Taylor Pitlick. Shannon Finn, who was on second after a stolen base, aggressively ran toward home plate and, with an errant throw to first, scored easily.

Throughout much of the rest of the game, both Williamsburg and North Polk got runners on base, but nothing ever materialized.

Quality defensive plays and pitching kept the score at 1-0 until the top of the 5th.

Finn knocked in a run on an RBI double to make the score 2-0.

The Raiders added one more in the 6th off an RBI bunt by Taylor Sanchez in which Pitlick slid at home plate and beat the tag by the North Polk catcher.

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North Polk made things interesting in the bottom of the 6th.

After getting runners on 2nd and 3rd, North Polk’s Ava Koudelka drove in both baserunners on a 2 RBI hit to make it 3-2.

Two singles later, North Polk had the bases loaded with 2 outs.

Raider pitcher Jersey Metz came in for the last out and forced a flyout to hold on to a 3-2 victory in an exciting last inning.

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Williamsburg suffered its first loss of the season in its second game of the day to Class 3A No. 14 West Liberty, 7-4.