Fourth-ranked Newell-Fonda had the tough task of facing No. 1 right out of the gate at the Fort Dodge Invitational on Friday.

The Mustangs (18-5 overall) pulled out a 2-1 victory with a run in the bottom of the seventh against the Warriors (16-2).

Newell-Fonda turned the tide against the Warriors, avenging a recent 5-4 loss when North Union scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh to prevail.

Olivia Larsen led off the seventh inning with a single and then stole second base. Emma Stewart had an infield single and a throwing error allowed Larsen to score from second base for the victory.

“Offensively, we didn’t do a great job of hitting the ball all game long, but were able to get some pressure on their defense,” said Newell-Fonda head coach Tim Gauley. “We struggled to come up with that big hit when we had runners in scoring position, leaving eight runners on base through out the game.

“We continued to fight and finally found a way to get the job done in the bottom of the seventh.”

North Union got on the board in the first inning and then the Mustangs answered.

Stewart reached on a fielder’s choice and stole second. Melanie Morenz drove in Stewart with a single.

Newell-Fonda sisters Ella Larsen and Olivia Larsen had strong outings in the circle for the Mustangs. Ella started the contest and struck out five batters, giving up five hits and walking zero in four innings of work.

Olivia pitched the final three innings. She struck out seven batters, walking one and allowing only two hits.

Anna Ingalls struck out eight for NU.

The Mustangs started their quarterfinal game against Fort Dodge, but the contest was postponed due to inclement weather. The game will pick up with the Dodgers batting as the visiting team at 9 a.m. on Saturday.

NEWELL-FONDA 2,

NORTH UNION 1

North Union 100 000 0 — 1 7 0

Newell-Fonda 100 000 1 — 2 6 1

Anna Ingalls (L). Ella Larsen (4 inn.) and Olivia Larsen (3 inn., W). 2B–NU: Bre Anderson; NF: Megan Morenz: 3B–NF: Emily Archer.