Van Meter continues to show itself to be one of the premier programs in the state this summer, joining Cascade and West Lyon as the only Class 2A schools to send both their softball and baseball teams to the state tournament. (Events covered July 9-15)
Softball (31-2)
The table is set.
Van Meter returns to the state tournament after a 9-4 win over Exira-EHK-Audubon on Monday night in front of a packed home crowd. Despite trailing by two runs in the fourth inning, the Bulldogs regained control with ease, getting two home runs out of Finley Netten and Ava Hohenadel to help propel the win.
The reigning champs’ path back to hoisting the trophy once again in Fort Dodge begins on Tuesday against the eight-seeded East Marshall. It’s a familiar face for Van Meter after meeting in last year’s semifinals. The Mustangs led 3-1 in the sixth inning before the Bulldogs scored the final three runs of the game, walking it off in the eighth inning with eighth-grader Mady Schnell’s first career home run.
A repeat win would send Van Meter to the semifinals to face either Durant on Wednesday. The title game is set for that Friday.
Baseball (25-8)
For the first time since the undefeated 2022 season, Van Meter is heading back to the state tournament, and it comes with some drama, as the Bulldogs will face the team that dashed those dreams last year. But it all began with a big win earlier in the week.
After allowing Roland-Story to take a three-run lead on Saturday in the district title game, Van Meter walked off with two runs in the seventh inning for a 6-5 win to advance to the state qualifying game against a hard-hitting West Marshall team.
The Trojans came in with 17 home runs hit this season, trailing only Pleasantville among Class 2A teams, and had scored in 32 of 33 games. That pure power meant very little, with the Bulldogs shutting West Marshall down in a 3-0 win.
Now Van Meter gears up to play in Carroll for the first time since winning the 2022 championship. As the three-seed, the Bulldogs are paired with the six-seed Chariton on July 22. Last year, the Chargers made a surprise run to the state semifinals and nearly upended eventual champion Underwood.
There’s not much overlap between the two teams this year, but they have mutual opponents between Pleasantville and Winterset. Van Meter lost twice against the Trojans and beat Winterset, while Chariton lost to Pleasantville and beat Winterset.
A win against Chariton on Tuesday would likely set up a third meeting with two-seed Pleasantville on Wednesday.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Van Meter baseball, softball head back to state tournament
Reporting by Sean Cordy / Des Moines Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
