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Washington Evening Journal
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State softball: Top seeds win 3
Trio of No. 1 teams win state titles in Fort Dodge
FORT DODGE — Five softball classes played out their 2023 state tournaments in Fort Dodge last week, as the Iowa Girls High School Association’s state week saw 50 games played across the fields at Harlan Sports Complex.
The week saw top seeds shine in most cases, as the No. 1 seed won three of the five state tournaments.
One of those top seeds nearly didn’t make it to the regional final, thanks to one Union area team. The same Iowa City Regina squad that had to rally back in the seventh to tie and then force overtime against Cardinal in the regional semifinals, seemed to have an easier time with the squads at the Class 2A state tourney.
After having trouble in the quarterfinals but pulling out a 4-3 win over eighth-seeded Northwest, Regina dominated the state semifinals, trouncing No. 5 seed Interstate 35, 13-1. The Regals then rolled past No. 2 seed Van Meter 6-2 in this weekend’s state championship game.
Another top seed to put together a dominant run was No. 1 Williamsburg in Class 3A. Williamsburg cruised to the state title game with an 11-1 shelling of No. 8 seed Albia and an 8-0 shut out of No. 5 seed Estherville-Lincoln Central.
In the champoinship, Williamsburg played Davenport Assumption, the team which prevailed in the local Class 3A bracket, knocking off Washington in the semifinals.
Assumption’s bats couldn’t handle Williamsburg ace Peyton Driscoll, who threw a five-hit shut out to lead the Raiders to a 4-0 win.
Perhaps the most dominant No. 1 seed in Fort Dodge was Ankeny Centennial, the top-ranked team in Class 5A. The Jaguars outscored opponents 29-2 to roll to the state title.
After thrashing No. 8 Bettendorf 7-1 and then mercy ruling No. 4 Southeast Polk 11-1, the Jaguars put together a complete performance in the state title game, beating No. 6 seed Pleasant Valley 11-0 in five innings. Pitcher Three Centennial pitchers combined for a three-hit shut out.
One top seed to make the final game and lost was Martensdale-St. Mary’s, which came into the Class 1A tournament as the favorite. The Blue Devils were taken out, 6-0, by second-seded North Linn.
North Linn started the week off by walking off Sigourney 1-0 in extra innings. The Savages had earned the No. 8 seed from winning the local Class 1A regional final against Wapello. North Linn then hung on to defeat Clarksville, 2-1, in the semifinals.
The Class 1A finals saw North Linn score six runs over the first four innings. Previously, Martensdale-St. Mary’s had not given up a run all tournament.
The wildest bracket of the week was in Class 3A, where the championship game was a battle between the lowest two seeds in the tournament, No. 7 Winterset and No. 8 North Scott.
Winterset upset No. 2 Carlisle 11-5 and No. 3 Fort Dodge 6-4 to get to the championship game. North Scott knocked off No. 1 North Polk 7-4, and beat No. 4 Norwalk 6-4.
In the title bout, Winterset out-dueled North Scott 5-3 to win its second-straight state title.
The end of the state softball tournament marked the end of the 2022-2023 Iowa high school sports season. The 2023-24 season will begin this fall with cross-country, volleyball and football next up.
