FORT DODGE — Waukee Northwest softball starts every softball game the same way.
Senior right fielder Aunya Van Zetten hugs first baseman Laurel Richards. Richards hugs shortstop Maggie Allen. Allen hugs left fielder Meredith Thomsen. Thomsen hugs center fielder Leela Appeldorn.
And the Wolves go all the way down the line, until freshman pitcher Sophia Schlader goes down the order to meet catcher Kenley Sanger and finish the chain.
It’s a tradition that developed over time and has stuck – a moment pregame that reinforces the connection that helped the Wolves to the No. 1 seed in the Iowa high school softball state tournament.
The connection – and the talent – paid off, with Northwest taking down No. 2 Linn-Mar, 1-0, in eight innings to claim the state title on July 24. It marked the second championship in program history; the Wolves won the title in 2022.
“Last year was such a heartbreak,” said head coach Carrie Eby. “This year, just to see the smiles and see how proud of themselves as a team they have been is just truly incredible.”
Schlader made quick work on Linn-Mar’s offense, striking out five of the first six batters she faced. She didn’t allow a hit until the top of the third, when Kaylie Alvey posted a single.
The Lions allowed more hits in the opening innings, but Linn-Mar played some lock-down defense of its own to keep the scoreboard reading zero next to both ‘guest’ and ‘home’.
That’s how the score remained through the first seven innings, but that doesn’t mean the championship matchup was devoid of action.
Linn-Mar advanced a runner to third base three times through seven innings, but Schlader seems to hit a switch and go to a different level in those scenarios. When she didn’t get the outs, her catcher and third baseman stepped out, tagging out the runners on the basepaths.
There were all the hallmark moments of a championship-caliber softball game – like boo-inducing calls and having the bases loaded with the game on the line – save for a home run.
But the best full inning of entertainment came in the eighth.
Schlader struck out the first two batters she faced. Brynna Gander – first in the order – made it to first with a base hit, and she moved to second when Hayden Koutny drew a walk. That’s when Emily Koranda stepped up, and Eby didn’t hesitate to call for an intentional walk of the Linn-Mar player who’d had a hot bat all game.
That decision lit a fire under Schlader, who – with bases loaded and two outs on the board – threw three quick strikes to turn it over to the bottom of the inning.
“Yeah, she’s like, ‘Let’s go best against the best,’” Eby said. “And I respect that. But at the same time, (Koranda) went three-for-three and I said, ‘You know what, let’s go out the next girl.’”
She was up first in the batting order, too, but her time at home plate ended with an out. Van Zetten stepped in the box next, and she hit a single that turned into a triple when the Lions’ outfielder kicked the ball while going for the bounce.
Next up: Richards.
She was thrown out at first in her first at-bat, flew out to right field on her second and was thrown out at first, again, on her third turn. Statistically, it wasn’t her best game. But all she needed was one hit.
And that’s exactly what she got, dropping the ball in center field – just out of reach of the Lions outfielder – and sending Van Zetten, her senior teammate, home.
“I was just trying to stay as calm as I could,” Richards said about her game-winning at-bat. “I knew all the offseason work was going to pay off eventually, and I just knew that I would be able to step up for my team in that moment.
“I wanted to so bad, so I’m glad that I was able to. It’s the most surreal feeling ever.”
The only two seniors in Northwest’s starting lineup combined for the only run of the game and, boy, was it a winning combination.
Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Waukee Northwest tops Linn-Mar to win program’s second Iowa high school softball title
Reporting by Alyssa Hertel, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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