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Flying high

—Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Fort Dodge’s Tristin Doster flies past first base against Newell-Fonda on Saturday at the Fort Dodge Invitational. The Dodgers went 3-0 on the day and finished the first week of the season 8-1. For more photos, visit CU at messengernews.net

A frenetic first week on the field ended with three victories and an 8-1 overall record for the top-ranked (Class 5A) Fort Dodge softball team on Saturday at Rogers Park.

The Dodgers were good for long stretches, great at times and yet still a work in progress. Head coach Andi Adams called it a “pretty typical start to the season for the most part.”

That may seem like a peculiar assessment of a squad that only dropped one game in nine tries and picked up five wins over ranked opponents. But the standard is going to be much different for Adams’ squad in 2020.

“It was a long, tough stretch right out of the gate,” Adams admitted. “I’m tired, so I can only imagine how they feel. Playing nine games in five days, being on the road twice for doubleheaders, getting home at 11 (p.m. Friday) and having to be ready (first thing Saturday morning) — it was tough. And I’m proud of them.

“We want to keep pushing them, which means they’re going to be challenged even when they win and they’re going to have to rise above their comfort zone. Our record looks good, but it’s not about that. It’s making sure we’re getting better every time out, and that we’re staying humble and hungry.”

During Saturday’s FDSH Invitational, the Dodgers defeated No. 2 (Class 1A) Newell-Fonda, 6-1; No. 10 (4A) Winterset, 7-1; and 13th-rated (4A) Harlan, 12-0. Fort Dodge racked up 27 more hits and 25 runs, pushing its totals to 101 and 88, respectively, through the first nine games.

Meanwhile, pitchers Jalen Adams, Haley Wills and Katelyn Werning worked 20 innings on Saturday, allowing just 12 hits, two earned runs, walking none and striking out 20.

“I’ve noticed the confidence of every single player in our lineup growing the last few days,” Adams said. “The mental aspect of this game is just as important as the physical. So it was great to see so many different players step up when their number was called.”

Against the Mustangs (4-1), coached by former Dodger standout Courtney (Vaughn) Darrow, Fort Dodge plated three runs in the first inning to take control. Sophomore Tory Bennett doubled and scored twice, while classmate Jalen Adams was 2-for-4. Adams worked three hitless innings with six strikeouts, and sophomore Haley Wills finished the final four frames.

Maggie Walker scored the lone N-F run. Kiera Jungers took the loss, but five of the six runs against her were unearned. The Mustangs, who bounced back to crush both Sioux City East (11-2) and Sioux City Heelan (14-2), committed four errors.

Adams tossed a four-hit complete game versus Winterset (3-1) with seven more Ks. Doster drove in three runs, with senior Loghen Schnetzer picking up two more RBI. Bennett and Adams both scored twice, and junior Chloe Wertz contributed two hits.

Fourteen different Dodgers saw the field in the rout of Harlan (5-1). Doster and Adams recorded three hits each, with Wertz and sophomore Maia Davis both driving in a pair. Despite playing with a severe cut on the lower portion of her leg from being cleated at Urbandale the night before, Doster doubled two more times.

Senior Katelyn Werning also delivered a two-run single, and pitched two scoreless innings in relief of Wills. Martyne Lowrey reached base four times, with three walks, two runs and an RBI single.

“It was great to see Katelyn, Maia and Chloe come up big at different times,” Adams said. “Even (freshmen) Reese (Pederson) and Maggie (Elsbecker) came in and helped us out (Pederson had an RBI groundout and Elsbecker reached base and scored a run). Maggie just got her varsity uniform (Saturday) morning. Coaches were telling me how hard she’d been working up to this point (at the lower level), and I trust their judgement, so we called her up. She played well at first base.

“As I’ve said before, we have to become as balanced as possible. Which means not only 1-9 in the lineup, but really, being able to count on anyone when we need them for a specific situation. That’s what successful teams do.”

Adams called Saturday’s invite a “total team effort.”

“I want to thank the Rogers Park grounds crew, (FDSH athletic and activities director) Kevin Astor, (FDCSD trainer) Bre (Drees), my dad (public address announcer Craig Royster), the freshman team workers and everyone else who came together to help put this together,” Adams said. “It takes a lot of extra planning in this day and age to make sure all of the boxes are checked. We’re very lucky to have so much support in and around our program.”

The Dodgers return to action on Monday at No. 11 Ottumwa.

FORT DODGE 6, NEWELL-FONDA 1

Newell-Fonda 000 000 1 — 1 4 4

Fort Dodge 300 012 x — 6 6 0

WP–Haley Wills (4 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K). LP–Kiera Jungers (6 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K). 2B–FD: Tory Bennett. SB–FD: Tory Bennett, Loghen Schnetzer, Jalen Adams, Maia Davis, Malia Lowrey.

FORT DODGE 7, WINTERSET 1

Fort Dodge 200 031 1 — 7 10 0

Winterset 000 001 0 — 1 4 3

WP–Jalen Adams (7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K). LP–Thea Banning (6 IP, 10 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 K). 2B–FD: Tristin Doster; W: Riley Klous. HR–W: Ava Lowden. SB–FD: Tory Bennett.

FORT DODGE 12, HARLAN 0 (6)

Fort Dodge 012 405 — 12 12 1

Harlan 000 000 — 0 4 2

WP–Haley Wills (4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K). LP–Emily Brouse (3.1 IP, 7 R, 7 R, 7 ER, 3 BB, 0 K). 2B–FD: Tristin Doster 2. SB–FD: Tory Bennett, Dallas Richardson, Aeva Alstott, Maia Davis.

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