State softball script set

For all five of Iowa’s high school softball classes, the state softball stage is set.

After Monday and Tuesday’s regional final action, Class 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A and 5A tournament teams now look ahead to Fort Dodge.

Found below are each of those matchups from each class.

Beginning with Class 1A, top seeded Martensdale-St. Marys (28-6) will take on No. 6 seeded Edgewood-Colesburg (29-10).

Martensdale-St. Marys has held the number one ranking for the majority of the season and they showed why through the regional round. The Blue Devils didn’t give up a single run through the regional bracket. They will look to avenge a state championship loss last season.

Meanwhile, Edgewood-Colesburg downed comes in after an upset, topping defending champion North Linn 7-2.

In the second game at the top of the 1A bracket, No. 4 Fort Dodge St. Edmond (25-5) will square off with No. 5 Collins-Maxwell (27-3).

St. Edmond is back to the state tournament after downing Saint Ansgar 4-2 in the regional final.

Collins-Maxwell took the regional title with a 4-1 with over Earlham. All three of its losses on the season have been two runs for less.

On the bottom half of the bracket, No. 2 Wayne (24-4) takes on No. 7 Southeast Warren (23-2).

Wayne took care of business through its regional slate, winning its trio of games by at least nine points, while giving up just one run. The Falcons took third in last years’ state tournament as the four seed.

Southeast Warren is back in for another year. The Warhawks were a three seed a year ago, but lost their first round matchup to Sigourney.

The Warhawks downed 2023 state tournament participant Clarksville in the regional final in walk-off fashion 3-2. All three of Southeast Warren’s runs came in the seventh.

The final state tournament matchup is between No. 3 Remsen St. Mary’s (23-0) and Sigourney (23-7).

Both teams were at state in 2023. Remsen is the only undefeated team in the field. They gave up just one run through their regional field and get back to state after a 2-0 win against Newell-Fonda. The Hawks bowed out last season after a loss to Wayne.

Sigourney will look to top last years state tournament performance. The Savages picked up one win as a No. 7 seed last season.

In the regional round, Sigourney survived back-to-back games against Highland and Wapello, winning 2-1 in each.

Class 2A first game of the tournament will be No. 1 Van Meter (40-1) taking on No. 8 West Fork (18-7).

Van Meter has held the top ranking through the majority of the season and will be looking to avenge a state championship loss last season.

West Fork grabbed a 3-0 win over Hudson to get to the state tournament. The Warhawks were not in the final 2A rankings.

No. 4 East Marshall (32-4) and No. 5 Lisbon (27-12) will battle it out.

East Marshall dominated Ogden in the regional final 11-1 to punch a ticket to state. The Mustangs were ranked No. 6 in the final rankings.

Lisbon is heading back to Fort Dodge. The Lions picked up one win last season before falling to Interstate 35. Lisbon was a No. 4 seed last year.

The Lions defeated Osage in the regional final 4-2.

In the bottom of the bracket, No. 2 Northeast (27-7) gets No. 7 Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont (22-13).

Northeast comes in after a regional final victory over Durant 4-2. The Rebels were ranked No. 3 in the final rankings. They were a state tournament qualifier in 2023 as well. This time around the Rebels will be looking for a tournament win.

Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont missed out on state last year by one game. The Rockets are in this time around. During their regional run, they defeated No. 4 Cardinal and then topped Pleasantville 3-2 in the final.

No. 3 Audubon (27-4) and No. 6 West Monona (33-7) will play in the late game.

Audubon was a top five ranked team in the final rankings, while West Monona was just inside the top 10. Audubon grabbed a 1-0 win over MVAOCOU in the regional championship.

West Monona had a pretty stellar run through the regional rounds, giving up just three runs and taking the regional final 13-0 over MMCRU.

It’s back-to-back trips to state for the Spartans. They failed to grab a win last year at a No. 6 seed.

In Class 3A, there’s a lot of familiar faces as well.

Defending state champion No. 2 Williamsburg (30-12) will take on No. 7 PCM (24-4).

The Raiders defeated Chariton 6-2 in the regional final. Last season, Williamsburg was the No. 1 seed. They defeated Assumption in the state championship. They will look to defend their title.

PCM is in the big dance after defeating Clarinda 13-1. The Mustangs will have a tough matchup with the defending champs.

No. 3 seeded Dubuque Wahlert (29-10) and Sumner-Fredericksburg (33-3) will play in game two.

Dubuque Wahlert defeated all their regional opponents by at least 10 runs. The Golden Eagles were state qualifiers last season, taking fourth.

Sumner-Fredericksburg gets to state after defeating West Marshall 3-1.

Game three will feature No. 1 Benton Community (31-7) and No. 8 Solon (18-24).

Benton was a No. 6 seed in last year’s state tournament and picked up one state victory before falling to Wahlert Catholic.

The Bobcats defeated Eagle Grove 10-0 to get back to state.

Meanwhile, Solon gets a spot in the 2024 tournament after defeating Center Point-Urbana 4-3.

No. 4 Davenport Assumption (25-12) and No. 5 Estherville Lincoln Central (31-6) take on one another in the final 3A game of the night.

Davenport Assumption was last years state runner-up. The Knights were the No. 2 seed last season and are back to try and hoist the title.

The Knights defeated Central Lee 6-3 in the regional final.

For Estherville Lincoln Center, state is a familiar place. The Midgets finished third as the No. 5 seed in 2023.

They downed West Lyon 9-1 to get to state.

Class 4A returns all but one state tournament qualifier in 2024. That one team is 2023 state champion Winterset.

No. 2 Dallas Center-Grimes (32-8) takes Winterset’s place and will battle No. 7 Carlisle (34-8) in the first game.

Carlisle was the No. 2 seed last year, but lost to the champions in the opening game. They defeated Xavier 2-1 for the regional championship

Dallas Center-Grimes outscored its opponents 25-0 in the regional round, defeating Perry 10-0 for the regional title.

Game two will feature No. 3 Norwalk (29-7) and No. 6 North Scott (30-5).

Norwalk finished third as a No. 4 seed a year ago, meanwhile, North Scott fell in the state championship as a No. 8 seed.

Norwalk defeated Pella 4-0 in the regional final, while North Scott handled Burlington 5-0.

In the bottom half of the bracket, No. 1 North Polk (36-4) will take on No. 8 Western Dubuque (30-9).

North Polk was an No. 8 seed in 2023, while Western Dubuque was a No. 5 seed.

North Polk defeated Gilbert 7-1 in its regional final. Western Dubuque edged Clear Creek Amans 4-3.

In the very bottom of the bracket, No. 4 ADM (29-9) will take on No. 5 Fort Dodge (30-12).

Last season, ADM was the No. 6 seed. They failed to get a state win after back-to-back losses.

Fort Dodge was a No. 3 seed in last year state tournament, but fell to Winterset in the semifinal.

ADM knocked out the defending champs in the regional final 6-0. Fort Dodge gets to state after downing Sergeant Bluff-Luton 11-3.

Finally, it’s Class 5A.

No. 1 West Des Moines Valley (36-4) will be battling No. 8 Cedar Rapids Prairie (24-17). No. 4 Waukee Northwest (33-7) gets No. 5 Ankeny (21-20).

The bottom of the bracket will be No. 2 Pleasant Valley (37-3) taking on No. 7 Waukee (20-7). No. 3 Muscatine (27-10) will battle with No. 6 Urbandale (22-18) in the final game of the first round.

Five of the eight teams were in last years state tournament, which includes Valley, Waukee Northwest, Muscatine, Ankeny and Pleasant Valley. Pleasant Valley is the highest returning placer. The Spartans were state runners up as a No. 6 seed in 2023 after falling to No. 1 Ankeny Centennial.

Muscatine finished third as a No. 7 seed. Ankeny was the No. 2 seed and Waukee Northwest the No. 3 seed. Valley was the No. 5 seed.