Huskies return to title game

FORT DODGE — No matter who wins tonight, the Class 4A softball championship will be a Cinderella story.

No. 7-seeded Winterset edged third-seeded Fort Dodge 6-4 in 10 innings Wednesday to reach the finals against No. 8-seeded North Scott. The Lancers knocked off Norwalk, 6-4, to reach the 7:30 p.m. championship game on Kruger Field at the Harlan and Hazel Rogers Sports Complex.

North Scott began the tournament by upsetting top-seeded North Polk, 7-4. Winterset beat Carlisle 11-5 in Monday’s quarterfinals.

Winterset lost four key seniors from last year’s championship team, and Iowa Gatorade Player of the Year Jena Young was out for the entire season while rehabilitating from ACL surgery in January. Her first two appearances of the season, as a batter only, were in the two state tournament games.

The Huskies, 10th on the final regular-season Class 4A ratings, got to state by upsetting No. 6 Indianola, 6-0, in the regional finals after defeating Hawkeye Ten champion Creston 6-3 in the regional semifinals.

Fort Dodge, Class 5A state champion in 2021 and runner-up a year ago, dropped to Class 4A this year and seemed to be on its way to the finals again in taking an early 3-0 lead over Winterset in Wednesday’s semifinal matchup.

The Huskies got back into contention with a two-run third inning and the 3-2 score stayed intact until the top of the sixth.

Young’s solo home run to center field made it 3-3, and Molly Breeding’s sacrifice fly accounted for a 4-3 lead after Brynn Acton’s double.

Breeding and Acton shared pitching duties again Wednesday, with Acton getting the win in 6 1/3 innings and Breeding re-entering in the 10th for the save. Breeding pitched a total of 3 2/3 innings.

A throwing error allowed Fort Dodge to score the tying run in the bottom of the seventh as the Huskies were trying to close out a 4-3 win.

Acton pitched scoreless eighth and ninth innings as the score stayed deadlocked at 4-4 until the Huskies broke through in the 10th. It started with Makenna Olson’s bloop single. Young flied out, but Acton followed with a single to push Olson to third base.

Applegate gave Winterset the lead with her sacrifice fly to center field. Breeding’s RBI single made it 6-4 and she overcame a leadoff walk in the bottom of the 10th to keep the Dodgers off the board for the save.

Acton was 4-5 at the plate for Winterset. Young was 1-4 with two RBIs and Breeding also drove in two runs. The Huskies (27-12) had a total of 11 hits. Mackenzie McIlrath had three of Fort Dodge’s 10 hits. The Dodgers (32-10) will face Norwalk in today’s third-place game.

Tonight, in their 13th trip to the state tournament, the Huskies will be seeking their fourth championship under veteran coach Steve Corkrean.