—Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Fort Dodge senior Mason Bockoven will help lead the Dodgers in their Class 4A, Substate 1 postseason opener tonight at Ed McNeil Field.

The regular season may not have ended the way the Fort Dodge baseball team wanted, but they’re ready for the postseason.

The Dodgers (12-9 overall) will meet a familiar foe in Ames (13-7) in a Class 4A regional quarterfinal at Ed McNeil Field. First pitch is slated for 7 p.m.

Fort Dodge and the Little Cyclones meet in a doubleheader at the beginning of the week with the Little Cyclones sweeping the twinbill.

“We are ready for postseason play,” said Fort Dodge head coach Blake Utley. “We cleaned up a few things and coming into the postseason we are ready to play.

“We will bring our best at them.”

In the opener the Dodgers and Little Cyclones went to extra innings. Fort Dodge sophomore Carson Peterson tied the contest with his first career home run in the sixth inning. Junior Tyler Schreier and sophomore Eli Elsbecker also launched their first career long balls in a 6-4 defeat in eight innings. Ames won the nightcap 15-3. The Dodgers have lost four of their last five games after a stretch of winning 10 contests in 12 tries.

Elsbecker, who has come on as of late for the Dodgers, is batting .480 with 12 hits, including four doubles and the home run. He has driven in seven runs.

“This is one of those groups that has played baseball together for a long time,” Utley said. “We have seven seniors on our roster and a lot of them have been playing varsity since they were sophomores and have been in substate games and know what it takes to win.”

Senior Mason Bockoven is batting .377 with a team-high 25 RBI, four home runs, three triples and 26 hits. He has scored 16 runs. Schreier leads the team in runs with 26. He has 23 hits and 13 RBI and has stolen 23 bases.

Senior Nick Bice is batting .356 and has driven in nine runs with 21 hits. Sophomore first baseman Jace Ulrich has 16 hits and has driven in six runs, while batting .364.

Bockoven (25 innings pitched), Peterson (22ª), junior Dylan Zimmerman (21•), sophomore Drake Callon (19ª), senior Easton Cone (17•) and senior Nelson Cone (17) have logged the most innings for the Dodgers.

Peterson is 4-0 with 29 strikeouts. Zimmerman has 28 strikeouts. Nelson Cone (2-1) has a 2.47 ERA, while Peterson has a 3.09 ERA.

“Our seniors Mason Bockoven, Easton Cone, Nelson Cone, Nick Bice, Shane Halligan, Brycen Bell and Jordan Mills have meant a lot to this program,” Utley said. “Mason is an amazing young man and this game (baseball) means more to him than anything. Easton and Nelson love baseball. Shane has been hurt and has been right here helping out. Nick and Brycen will be out there in the outfield and ready to go.

“We will have five seniors out there who expect to win.”

For Ames sophomore Evan Gray is the top hitter at .380. He has driven in eight runs. Sophomore Mario Napolitano has driven in 16 runs and has 18 hits, while hitting .367. Senior Cameron Galt has driven in 15 runs.

On the mound Galt (5-0) has thrown 29ª innings with 19 strikeouts and a 1.65 ERA. Classmate Parker Choate has thrown 28 innings and has a 1-2 record. He has fanned 20 batters and has a 1.25 ERA.

Utley is pleased to be in the familiar confines of Ed McNeil Field.

“It’s great to open the postseason at home,” Utley said. “We know the ground rules and know all the hops. The seniors have played a lot of games here and are extremely comfortable at this place.”

For the contest each player will have three tickets and then there will be general admission. Fans will be capped at 200.