FORT DODGE — It’s the final day before the championship rounds of the Iowa high school softball state tournament, but there is still plenty of action to be played before the title games.
There were six teams left standing in Class 5A at the start of the day but, by the end of the night, only two squads will remain. And those two programs – after getting a day off – will compete to take home the championship on Friday night.
Here is a recap of all the action from Day 3 of the Iowa state softball tournament.
No. 3 Valley 12, No. 6 Southeast Polk 10
For the second time this tournament, these two teams faced off and – for the second time this tournament – Southeast Polk came out on top. But it was a battle until the very end, with the two teams exchanging multi-run innings.
The Tigers held the Rams without a run in the top of the first, and then Ilsa Hervey gave Valley the early lead with a two-run home run in the bottom of the inning. Southeast Polk turned the tables in the second, with Berkley Weiland sending two runners home and Ivy Ohorilko scoring another runner to take the lead.
Valley put two more runs on the board in the third inning, and Southeast Polk scored three in the fourth – including a two-run homer from Karter Price. And the scoring just didn’t stop.
The Tigers added one run in the bottom of both the fourth and fifth innings, the Rams scored three runs in the top of the fifth, and Lily Finn tied things up for Valley with a three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth.
Southeast Polk managed to pull ahead once again in the top of the seventh inning, and the Rams held Valley to just one run in the bottom of the seventh to walk away with the win.
“Our girls just trust each other,” said Southeast Polk coach Tia Stiles. “Valley is an excellent opponent. They have some really good players, really good hitters. At the end of the day, our girls wanted to do what they could to help the team be successful.”
No. 1 Waukee Northwest vs. No. 4 Dallas Center-Grimes
First pitch scheduled for 1:15 p.m.
No. 2 Ankeny Centennial vs. Southeast Polk/Valley
First pitch schedule for 3:30 p.m.
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: Class 5A Iowa state softball tournament Day 3 scores and recap
