-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Maggie Harvey of Fort Dodge makes the tag against Dowling on Wednesday at Rogers Park

The final score of Wednesday’s CIML Iowa Conference softball nightcap between Fort Dodge and West Des Moines Dowling looks like the 11th-ranked (Class 5A) Maroons finished their sweep without breaking a sweat.

Head coach Andi Adams was disappointed it had to end the way that it did. Dowling plated 12 runs in the top of the eighth inning to finally shake the Dodgers in a deceiving 20-8 victory at Rogers Park. The Maroons also took the opener, 6-1.

On paper, Dowling (18-7 overall) dominated. The Maroons bashed out 37 hits in the doubleheader, including 23 in a second game that got away from Fort Dodge in a hurry.

Lost in the shuffle was the fact that Adams’ squad rallied from a 7-2 deficit to force extra innings in the first place. The Dodgers (14-13) plated three runs in the fifth and three more in the sixth, pulling even at 8-8 going into the seventh.

The comeback only ”poked the giant” as Adams described. The first 10 runners in the top of the eighth reached base for Dowling, and by the end of the frame, the Maroons had marched 16 batters to the plate, hit a pair of doubles, drilled two home runs, and collected 10 hits.

”We showed a lot of resilience and fought hard to get (back to even),” Adams said. ”Once that happened, though, they came out with a vengeance and really took it to us (in the eighth). They’re such a strong and talented ballclub. We held them down for as long as we could.

”It’s frustrating, because we were right back in it. We were fired up and had a lot of momentum (Fort Dodge also recorded the final out at the plate in the top of the seventh on a relay throw from right field to home). But you only get so many chances, and if you don’t take advantage, they’ll ultimately start to overwhelm you. I just hate that the last inning had to go the way it did after we expended so much energy (to tie the score).”

The Dodgers tallied the first two runs of the nightcap, but the Maroons gained the upper-hand with four runs in the fourth and three more in the fifth. Dowling’s bats were electric in the last five innings, as the visitors recorded 21 hits in 38 at-bats.

Consecutive singles by Aubrey Davis and Tristin Doster loaded the bases in the fifth, and Bre Tjebben was hit by a pitch to bring home the first run of the rally. Maggie Harvey then hit a sharp ground ball to shortstop, and though she was retired, two runs scampered home.

The sixth-inning burst came with two outs. An infield single by Davis was followed by a two-run double from Doster, which plated both Davis and Daphne Alstott. Doster then raced home on an error by the shortstop to pull FDSH even.

Dowling looked like it might go back ahead in the top of the seventh, when Hallie Ketcham — a University of Minnesota recruit — laced a double to the wall in right. Meagan Hartman relayed the ball to Doster, who threw to Harvey at home. Harvey then turned and tagged out McKenna Moses on a bang-bang play at the plate, as Dodger players and fans reacted in simultaneous jubilation.

The celebration was short-lived, however, as the Maroons brought in ace pitcher Hannah Pals. The junior right-hander, who sports an ERA of 0.52, retired Fort Dodge quietly in order to end the seventh and set up Dowling’s eighth-inning explosion.

Doster and Davis had two hits each in game two, while Mack Provin doubled and scored for the Dodgers. Adams also lost Tjebben — Fort Dodge’s pitching leader and No. 3 hitter — in the fifth inning on the pitch that hit her knee. Tjebben was noticably wincing in pain after being taken out, and was still having trouble putting pressure on her leg after the contest.

”We’re not in a position depth-wise to lose someone like Bre. We’re not in a position under any circumstances, really, to lose someone like Bre,” Adams said. ”We’re hoping she’s going to be OK, because it’s just been one thing after another with her. I really feel for her; she’s had problems with that knee, and her ankle, too. Last year it was her back. She just can’t seem to get healthy, which is tough for us, but really heartbreaking for her.”

Dowling tacked on three seventh-inning insurance runs to solidify their win in game one. The Maroons recorded 14 hits, while Pals held the Dodgers to just two. Fort Dodge did have some opportunities, though, stranding two runners on base in the third, fifth and seventh innings.

Six different Dodgers reached third base, but only one scored against Pals. Doster, an eighth-grader, had a single to drive in the lone FDSH run.

”We have to get hits in clutch situations, and until the latter stages of (the nightcap), we just weren’t able to come through,” Adams said. ”Those two-out situations with runners in scoring position — you have to cash in on those against a team of Dowling’s caliber. We’re getting there, but we need to be more consistent.”

The Maroons have now won 11 out of their last 13, including a doubleheader sweep on Monday against third-ranked Urbandale.

The Dodgers return to action on Friday at the Marion Linn-Mar Tournament.