Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Nick Bice of Fort Dodge connects at McNeil Field earlier this week.

URBANDALE — The final three outs are always the hardest to get in baseball.

Especially when a team is facing the defending state champions and the top-ranked squad in Class 4A.

Things got interesting late for the Fort Dodge baseball squad at Urbandale on Friday, but the Dodgers found a way and hung on to score an 11-10 victory in the nightcap of a CIML doubleheader.

Head coach Blake Utley’s squad saw an 11-4 lead all but disappear in the bottom of the seventh inning, before Easton Cone picked off a J-Hawk pinch runner for the final out to seal what wound up being a dramatic one-run win.

“It’s been a while since we’ve gotten one of this magnitude,” Utley said. “I think almost all of our guys would admit that it was tense out there. It was nice to have that cushion to work with, and you have to give credit to Urbandale for battling back. They’re the champs for a reason. They expect to win, no matter what the score is or how late it is in the ballgame.

“This is just a huge boost of confidence for our program. It was awesome to see them enjoying it, because they’ve worked really hard and there’s a lot of great chemistry in this group. Those last three outs are tough to get, but we found a way to persevere.”

The Dodgers (1-3 overall) plated five runs in the second inning and three more in the third to erase an early 2-0 deficit. A three-run sixth made it 11-3 before the J-Hawks (3-1) started to chip away at the deficit.

Sophomore pitchers Carson Peterson and Jace Ulrich combined to allow just three runs through the first six innings of work.

“Carson and Jace really battled,” Utley said. “Carson pitched his tail off, and Jace did an excellent job (in relief) up until running into some trouble (in the seventh). Easton came in and closed it out like a senior should. We have confidence in him.

“Our pitchers weren’t necessarily overpowering, but they found a way and the defense really backed them up (the Dodgers didn’t commit a single error in the nightcap).”

Junior Sawyer Springer drove in four runs and had a double. Senior Mason Bockoven was 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored. Cone drove in a pair.

“We weren’t completely surprised we (successfully executed) the pick-off play at the end,” Utley said. “We figured they would try and get the kid into scoring position (with a stolen base as the potential tying run). We caught him leaning. That was all (assistant coach) Nick Vinson, (injured starting catcher) Shane Halligan, Easton and Jace.”

Senior Nick Bice scored three runs in the victory, and classmate Dylan Zimmermann came home twice. Nelson Cone had two walks, a single, a run scored and an RBI.

“We decided to go back a little more to our ‘small ball’ strategy of bunting and forcing the defense to make plays,” Utley said. “That’s kind of old-school Dodger baseball. It got some things going for us and you could see the confidence building.

“Tyler Schreier and a few of the others laid down some outstanding bunts. The guys are getting their momentum and timing back.”

Urbandale took the opener, 12-1 in five innings. The J-Hawks scored four times in the first inning and added six more in the second.

Nelson Cone drove in Bice, who had Fort Dodge’s only hit.

The Dodgers return to action on Monday at Ottumwa.