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All cylinders

-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Daphne Alstott of Fort Dodge slides around Des Moines East Marisa Anderson on Thursday

The Fort Dodge softball team’s lineup is dominated by talented younger players who are just getting started at the varsity level.

When it comes to the glue that holds everything together, though, head coach Andi Adams doesn’t hesitate in crediting a small senior class that’s short on time and long on experience.

”I’ve had a lot of seniors step up through the years and take the reins, both in terms of chemistry and leadership. It almost always comes with the territory of success,” Adams said. ”Bre Tjebben and Kaden Pederson are already two of my very best.

”Our (underclassmen) look to them and need the kind of guidance they are giving, both on and off the field. I can’t thank them enough for being mature and handling that; it’s not always a given that seniors are willing to take on that kind of responsibility, especially when there are teammates who are three or even four years younger than they are.”

The 15th-ranked (Class 5A) Dodgers continued their winning ways on Thursday with a doubleheader sweep of Des Moines East. Fort Dodge prevailed, 6-4 and 10-2, to avenge a loss from just five days ago improve to 14-2 overall.

The fourth inning was kind to Adams’ squad in both contests. The Dodgers plated three runs in the opener to erase a 2-0 deficit and take the lead for good, then snapped a scoreless tie in the nightcap with a three spot that began to open the floodgates.

Fort Dodge was clutch as well, with seven of its 10 runs in the latter affair coming with two outs.

”The two-out hitting was great to see,” Adams said. ”For the most part, when we needed a clutch hit, we got it. That makes a big difference in the process of trying to consistently win games; you have to come through in those situations.”

Pederson followed consecutive singles by Loghen Schnetzer and Daphne Alstott with a two-run single to tie the game at 2 in the fourth inning of the opener, and Chloe Wertz drove in another run with a groundout. Tjebben had an RBI single in the fifth to make it 4-2, and eighth-grader Haley Wills drove Alstott in with another single in the sixth.

Eighth-grader Jalen Adams worked six full innings before running into some trouble in the last frame while protecting a 6-2 advantage. Sophomore Katelyn Werning put out the fire at 6-4 with runners on second and third, enducing a flyout and a groundout to Tjebben at shortstop.

East junior C.J. Banner, who entered Thursday’s twinbill with a 5-1 record and 1.02 earned run average, allowed four earned runs and 10 hits to FDSH after giving up just six all year through her first 41 innings pitched. She defeated the Dodgers at the West Des Moines Valley Shootout last Saturday.

It took a while for Fort Dodge to get going in the nightcap, but once it did, the sweep was never in doubt. Alstott laced a two-run double to score Davis and Tjebben, who began the fourth with consecutive singles.

Pinch-hitter Tory Bennett, another eighth-grader, led off the fifth with a single. After East (6-7) recorded two outs, the Dodgers broke things wide open. Tjebben singled up the middle to plate Bennett, Doster drilled a double to left, and Loghen Schnetzer tomahawked a two-run laser beam over the wall.

Doster added a two-run single in the sixth for good measure.

Werning went the distance, surrendering just a pair of earned runs and seven hits. She struck out five.

Tjebben had three hits and drove in three for the night, while Alstott came through with four hits and three runs scored. Davis and Adams recorded three hits as well.

”Our players are embracing their roles and doing what we need out of them without trying to do too much,” Adams said. ”We have a lot of kids who are relatively new to this particular level of play, but at the same time, they’ve played a lot of ball together. So much work has gone into getting us to this point behind the scenes.

”My staff and the entire support system, from the moms and dads on down, have put a ton of effort into what you see out here on the field. When you have that, and a group of players who are willing to work together, trust each other and lean on each other regardless of age or what’s happened before, good things can and will happen.”

The Dodgers return to action on Monday in a home doubleheader against seventh-ranked Urbandale (8-1). The J-Hawks suffered their first loss of the season in a split with No. 9 Dowling on Thursday.

FORT DODGE 6, DM EAST 4

DM East 000 200 2 — 4 9 2

Fort Dodge 003 210 x — 6 10 1

WP–Jalen Adams (6.1 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 K). SV–Katelyn Werning (0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K). 2B–DME: Carly Reynolds.

FORT DODGE 10, DM EAST 2

DM East 000 020 0 — 2 7 1

Fort Dodge 000 343 x — 10 12 0

WP–Katelyn Werning (7 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K). 2B–FD: Daphne Alstott 2, Tristin Doster; DME: Kennedy Anderson. HR–FD: Loghen Schnetzer.

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