FORT DODGE − The 2026 Iowa state softball tournament has arrived, with Class 4A’s first say at Harlan Rogers Sports Complex and Channel Seeds Field now complete
There were four games on deck on July 20 to kick things off in 4A. Remember, this year’s state tournament is double-elimination, meaning one loss does not eliminate a squad from contention for a state title. With that in mind, here’s our breakdown of the Des Moines and Iowa City-area action on the day.
Here’s a rundown of the Class 4A action in Fort Dodge.
No. 1 ADM 10, No. 8 Burlington 1 (sixth inning mercy rule)
After Burlington got out to a fast start, the No. 1-seed Tigers settled down to handle business easily in the first game.
Burlington got on the board first, as Kylee Hill’s RBI single brought home Ava Brandenburg to take a 1-0 lead. The Greyhounds loaded the bases with no outs, but ADM veteran Lauren Hagedorn settled in the circle, forcing a double play and recording a strikeout to limit the bleeding.
“(We’ve) been in those situations, so being able to trust we can get out of that is huge,” Hagedorn said.
Everything from there was domination from the Tigers. Aubrey Noring’s sacrifice bunt brought home Hagedorn to tie the game. Shortly after, a mishandled pitch at the plate saw Elliotte Von Roden score to give ADM a 2-1 lead.
Errors continued to spell trouble for Burlington in the bottom of the second. ADM’s Ellis Smith put a ball into play, but an error saw her take first and bring home pinch-runner Karsyn Stanford. With the bases loaded, a wild pitch brought home Hagedorn and Smith for a 5-1 advantage.
In the bottom of the fourth, Hagedorn reached base on a single with two outs. She attempted to steal second, and an error on the throw to second saw her race all the way home to take a 6-1 lead. Von Roden reached on an error during the following at-bat. Peyton Herrick pinch-ran for Van Roden, stealing second and third base, with Kinzie Maxwell eventually bringing the runner home on an RBI single to push the Tigers’ edge to 7-1.
To put a bow on the efforts, Maxwell blasted a shot to deep center field for a three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth, earning the Tigers a 10-1 mercy rule win.
ADM will face No. 4 Western Dubuque at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 21, after the Bobcats’ offense roared vs. No. 5 Winterset to advance. Burlington will have an elimination game against Winterset at 10:15 a.m.
While a loss wouldn’t have spelled the end of the season for the Tigers, a strong effort like that got the ball rolling in their state championship chase.
“I think getting this one out of the way really just calmed our nerves,” Hagedorn said. “Being able to get the first game out of state, winning like that, I think that is really big for us.”
No. 2 Carlisle 3, No. 7 North Polk 2
With two teams from the same conference, we all should have known this would go down to the wire. Ultimately, it came down to a walk-off hit for the Wildcats to secure the win.
Carlisle got in front first in the bottom of the first, as Mallie Stoner’s groundout drove in Chloe Roling for the 1-0 lead. After the top of the third, however, the Comets jumped in front, 2-1, after a solo shot from Madelyn Klever to right-center field followed by Ava Koudelka scoring on an error. Carlisle countered in the bottom of the fourth, with Ella Smith recording a solo home run of her own to deep-left center, tying things up at 2-2.
From there, Carlisle’s Stoner and North Polk’s Mallory Byrd showed off their arms in the circle. Neither pitcher allowed a hit in the fifth or sixth inning, setting up a crucial seventh inning.
After a 1-2-3 inning for Stoner, Byrd forced two quick ground-outs, making extra innings look probable. However, a double from Rosemary Hemsted, followed by an infield single from Roling gave Anyah Oatts a chance to win the game.
Oatts dropped a hit inside the left-field line and past third base for the walk-off single that brought home pinch runner Chloe Prenosil. While she hadn’t recorded a hit on the day, she came up huge right when her team needed it.
“I was more comfortable with her my last at-bat, so I just went up there with confidence,” Patts said. “I knew I was going to get her (Prenosil) in.”
The Wildcats advance to face No. 3 Fort Dodge at 5 p.m. on July 21, while the Comets will matchup with Clear Creek Amana at 2:45 on July 21 in a win-or-go-home affair.
No. 3 Fort Dodge 12, No. 6 Clear Creek Amana 2 (fourth inning mercy rule)
Clear Creek Amana jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first, starting with a run after an error. Kyla Schulte attempted to steal second, distracting the defense from home plate as Elizabeth Timmerman raced in from third to take a 1-0 lead. An RBI double from Carley Nash pushed the lead to 2-0.
However, Fort Dodge worked through their entire order in the bottom of the first to get out in front and never looked back. Ellie Doster’s RBI single made it 2-1, followed by a bases-loaded walk by Calliegh Zimmermann to bring Teryn Rippentrop home to tie the contest. An RBI single from Aubrey Alstott saw Brooklyn Gilliland score and a sacrifice-fly from Meg Marsh allowed Macy Wills to reach home, making it 4-2.
In the bottom of the second, Fort Dodge blew the game open with another four runs. Doster recorded her second RBI of the game with a sacrifice fly to make it 5-2. An RBI single from Grace Nichols brought home Rippentrop again, followed by a bunt from Wills to allow pinch runner Maeleena Meyer to score and go up 7-2. The final run of the inning came off of an Aubrey Alstott single to bring home Wills and give the Dodgers a dominant 8-2 lead.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Dodgers put the cap on the game with their final four-run inning for a mercy rule win. Rippentrop scored off of a bunt from Nichols, followed by an RBI single to shallow center field from Zimmerman to bring home Meyer once again, then Aubrey Alstott’s third RBI single of the night saw Wills score to make it 11-2. The final play of the game was an RBI single from Emersyn Lara to allow Zimmerman to cross home plate, giving the Dodgers 12 hits and 12 runs on one error to roll to a victory.
Thankfully for the Clippers, it’s a double-elimination tournament, allowing them to rally together and keep their tournament alive with at least one game to go. CCA will face off with No. 7 North Polk at 2:45 on July 21, while Fort Dodge will take on No. 2 Carlisle at 12:30.
“This is going to put a fire under us,” CCA co-head coach Sammy Moss said. “We’re just going to come back tomorrow, put it to them, come back and try to get a win.”
No. 4 Western Dubuque 11, No. 5 Winterset 5
Western Dubuque will take on No. 1 ADM on Tuesday. Winterset will continue on against No. 8 Burlington, needing to win out to remain alive.
Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Class 4A Iowa state softball tournament roundup, ADM wins first game
Reporting by Eli McKown, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Eli McKown, Des Moines Register | USA TODAY Network
