Fort Dodge softball coach Andi Adams has been practically begging the bottom of her lineup for more production recently.

Lexie Brennan-Rowe and Paige Osterberg took her plea to heart here Saturday.

The No. 11 (Class 4A) Dodgers swept through two Sioux City opponents in the Fort Dodge Invitational at Rogers Park, drubbing defending state runner-up North 10-0 in the opener and then rallying twice to tip sixth-ranked East 7-6 in a wild eight-inning affair.

Brennan-Rowe, a sophomore and the designated hitter yesterday, and Osterberg, a freshman leftfielder, both went 2-for-2 against the Stars (11-12 overall) from the eighth and ninth positions in the order. The victory over the Black Raiders (17-6) on the newly-christened Veterans Field followed a similar pattern, as Brennan-Rowe singled and doubled and Osterberg singled twice and stole a base.

The victories locked up fifth place for host Fort Dodge (18-6), which lost only to top-ranked (2A) BCLUW in the two-day event.

''It was great to see Lexie and Paige come through like that in both games,'' Adams said. ''When you get your 7, 8 and 9 hitters going, it brings a lot more balance and fluidity to the lineup. They stepped up and did what they needed to do - nothing flashy, just good, solid at-bats. It was a big reason we scored 17 runs on the day.''

The Dodgers trailed East 4-1 heading into the bottom of the sixth, 4-2 going into the seventh, and 6-4 in the home half of the eighth. Some clutch hitting sprinkled with a little luck helped FDSH escape, as senior Tieryn Potratz plated freshmen Emily Grell and Haley Rustvold with the tying and winning runs to cap the dramatic comeback.

''It was ugly, but we dug deep,'' Adams said. ''We didn't play particularly well, but we took advantage of some mistakes and overcame our own. That's the name of the game.''

Down by three in the sixth, seniors Marisa Wilson and Aleah Lentsch came through with singles to trim the deficit. The seventh-inning rally was a rollercoaster ride started by a Brennan-Rowe double and Osterberg single. A Potratz sacrifice fly plated pinch-runner Sarah Holm, and Osterberg tied things up at 4-4 when she was awarded home on an impediment ruling against the Black Raider third baseman following a Wilson bunt.

The ruling drew an intense argument from the East dugout, and head coach Mike Crawford was ejected during the exchange.

The Raiders responded with two runs in the top of the eighth - sparked by the International tiebreaker rule - but the Dodgers picked themselves up off the mat again. With Lentsch starting the frame at second base, Grell walked and Rustvold reached on a fielder's choice to load the bases. After an out, a dropped pop-up behind second base scored Lentsch - East again argued, to no avail, that it should have been an infield fly rule - and everyone wound up safe. Osterberg flew out to right, but Potratz then delivered the knockout punch with her two-run single.

Potratz homered to lead off the game - her first long ball of the year - and finished with four RBI. Eighth-grader Katie Donnelly (10-1) worked 5 innings of relief, surrendering only one earned run with two strikeouts.

''What more can you say about T (Potratz),'' Adams said. ''She's my rock. A great clutch performer. I can't think of many other hitters state-wide I'd want up in that kind of situation at the end.''

Fort Dodge dominated the Stars to open the day on Diamond 2. Junior Megan Risetter drove in a pair of runs, while Potratz doubled home Brennan-Rowe in a seven-run fourth inning. Grell, Wilson, Lentsch and Rustvold also added RBI.

Risetter (8-5) notched the shutout from the pitcher's circle.

The Dodgers, who are 6-2 in the CIML Iowa Conference, now visit top-ranked and defending state champion West Des Moines Valley (15-1, 8-0) on Monday beginning at 5:30 p.m.

Contact Eric Pratt at (515) 573-2141, or by e-mail at sports@messengernews.net