Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: Fort Dodge's Martyne Lowrey tags Ella Larsen of Newell-Fonda on Friday at Rogers Park. For more photos, please visit CU.messengernews.net

Andi Adams loves seeing her top-ranked (Class 5A) Fort Dodge softball team tested during the regular season.

That’s part of the reason Adams puts together a stacked FDSH Invitational each summer.

On Friday evening at Rogers Park, the Dodgers received just that kind of stern challenge in the form of No. 1 (1A) Newell-Fonda.

Following five scoreless innings, Fort Dodge finally broke through against the Mustangs, plating four runs to claim a 4-1 victory and advance into the semifinals. Adams’ squad will be joined by Muscatine, Pleasant Valley and Davenport Assumption.

The Dodgers (19-3 overall) will meet top-ranked (3A) Assumption (18-1) at 2:15 p.m. on Saturday, with No. 2 (5A) Muscatine and eighth-ranked (5A) Pleasant Valley squaring off in the other matchup.

“This was exactly why we challenge the girls and put them in tough situations,” Adams said. “The only way to get better is to face the best. Newell-Fonda might be a 1A program, but they are without a doubt one of the top teams in the state, regardless of size.

“Honestly, I was having a lot of real stress-filled moments there looking at the scoreboard.”

With one out in the sixth, Jalen Adams singled to start a string of five consecutive hits, which led to all four FDSH runs. Martyne Lowrey followed, and eighth-grader Mariah Myers broke the scoreless drought with an RBI single.

Tristin Doster then connected on an RBI double, and Tory Bennett gave the Dodgers a comfortable cushion with a two-RBI single.

Newell-Fonda (22-2) would get one on the board in the seventh, when Ella Larsen came around to cross home after getting hit by a pitch. Larsen reached base twice after taking a pitch from Adams to the body.

It was the first run Adams has allowed in her last 31 innings pitched.

“These girls have been in big-time games in basketball, volleyball, softball, and running at state track,” former Dodger standout and Newell-Fonda head coach Courtney (Vaughn) Darrow said. “They want to play against teams like Fort Dodge; they embrace that challenge.”

Freshman pitcher Kierra Jungers matched Adams, who has committed to the University of Iowa as a junior, through the first five innings. She had three strikeouts and allowed just two singles before the sixth.

“Kierra is such a competitor,” Darrow said. “And our defense was solid behind her. A game like this is only going to help the confidence of this team grow.”

Adams echoed those thoughts, adding “if there is a 1A team that can beat them, I’d be shocked.”

“(Newell-Fonda) just does it all,” Adams added. “Jungers is as good of a pitcher as we have faced. She had our hitters off-balance most of the game until we finally made some adjustments. Even in the seventh, they showed there was no backing down.”

Adams reached base three times, drawing two walks, with Reese Pederson scoring a run. Chloe Wertz had two hits with Lowrey, Myers, Doster, Bennett and Sophia Klinger each recording one.

In the circle, Adams struck out 11 without a walk, hitting two.

Fort Dodge downed Graettinger-Terril/R-A in the first game of the tournament, 12-0 in four innings. Eighth-grader Lucy Porter picked up the win, striking out five over three innings with just one hit allowed.

Maia Davis was 3-for-3 with three RBI, two steals and two runs, Lowrey stole three bases, Bennett stole two and both Haley Wills and Lowrey scored twice.

Adams recorded two hits and drove in a run, with Lowrey, Bennett, Wertz and Myers each adding an RBI.

In the first round, Newell-Fonda topped eighth-ranked (4A) Ballard, 6-4. Cedar Rapids Kennedy downed Waterloo Columbus, Assumption got by Sioux City East, Winterset tipped Atlantic, Pleasant Valley downed Harlan, Central Springs stunned Ankeny and Muscatine handled Sioux City Heelan.

Assumption took out No. 6 Kennedy in the quarterfinals, Pleasant Valley downed Winterset, and Muscatine bested Central Springs.