Photo by Julie Vinsand, The Gowrie News: Tory Bennett of Fort Dodge rips a base hit on Tuesday at Rogers Park against Marshalltown.

The numbers are somewhat staggering when stepping back to look at what the senior class of the Fort Dodge softball team has accomplished.

The three seniors — Jalen Adams, Tory Bennett and Haley Wills — played their final regular-season home game last night at Harlan and Hazel Rogers Sports Complex, and fittingly, it was a 10-0 win over Marshalltown in a CIML Iowa Conference matchup.

The third-ranked (Class 5A) Dodgers actually earned a sweep to keep their conference title hopes alive, as Marshalltown chose to forfeit the second contest, which went down as a 7-0 Dodger win. Fort Dodge was batting in the bottom of the first in the nightcap when lightning halted play.

With one more regular season contest to play and one more postseason run, the numbers keep adding up for the Dodgers and the 2022 senior class.

Over the past four-plus seasons, the three seniors have been a part of 165 wins and just 33 losses. They have won at least 28 games in each of the five seasons.

And they have been state qualifiers every summer, including reaching the 5A state title game in each of the last two years. Fort Dodge captured the school’s first-ever softball championship in 2021.

“Honestly, I can’t put into appropriate words — or words at all — that will even come close to expressing what they’ve meant to me,” Dodger softball coach Andi Adams said about her seniors. “These three have stuck it out through thick and thin. They’ve been through it all. Somebody asked me how many games I have coached these kids (over the years) and it’s been hundreds and hundreds. We’ve traveled thousands of miles and they’ve put in thousands of hours.

“It was kind of unfortunate how it ended (with the rain), but I thought it was a good gesture by (Marshalltown coach Jim Palmer) to forfeit the second game. He was doing it because we were still in the (conference title) race.”

Fort Dodge finishes 20-4 in the CIML Iowa Conference race and takes a 32-6 record into Wednesday’s season-finale at seventh-ranked (4A) Indianola.

The Dodgers needed to sweep Marshalltown and have Waukee Northwest drop one of two games against Ames to earn a share of the conference title. Northwest took the opener from the Little Cyclones, and the nightcap was called due to inclement weather with Ames up 3-2 in the third inning.

The Dodgers, who have been on a tear lately, open Class 5A regional play on Saturday back at Rogers Park against the winner of Sioux City North and Sioux City West. North (10-24) and West (0-37) meet Thursday night.

“We want to continue to extend our season,” Adams said. “The kids aren’t ready to be done. None of us are.”

Last night’s game was kind of a metaphor for the Dodgers’ season. They were sluggish at first, but exploded for eight runs over the final three innings, sparked by a five-run third.

The three seniors were again the spark. Jalen Adams walked three times and courtesy runner Reese Pederson scored all three after running for Adams. Bennett belted an RBI triple in the first, and Wills was hit by a pitch and scored in the third after stealing a base.

“They had a hard time finding themselves early in their careers, but they have grown into great leaders,” said Coach Adams. “I consider them all my children. They haven gotten the good, the bad and the ugly. They get it, though, and they are the first to admit that.”

The younger Dodgers also stepped up again as well as Fort Dodge won for the 20th time in their last 22 outings.

Freshman Mariah Myers was 2-for-3 with an RBI, freshman Meah McCaleb had an RBI double to end the game in the fifth, and freshman Lucy Porter drove in a run and scored a run. Freshmen Ashlyn Wills and Elleena Dunn also scored runs as pinch runners.

“The way the kids are playing the last month has been amazing to watch. They like having fun, they like relaxing but they know what they are doing. They take everything seriously,” said Coach Adams. “The young kids work so hard. They are following the seniors’ lead. The young kids are playing for the seniors. You can see that. They know there is a sense of urgency.

“I am so proud of them.”

Jalen Adams got the win, moving her record to 18-3 for the season. She fanned 11 batters in her five innings of work and scattered three hits.

Marshalltown got one runner to third, when Gianna Baune tripled in the fourth, but Myers picked her off for the first out of the frame.

Adams finished with at least two strikeouts in every inning, including fanning the side in the third inning.

The Dodgers face Indianola in a varsity only game on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Saturday’s 5A regional semifinal will start at 7 p.m. as well.

Ames hosts Sioux City East in the other semifinal Saturday. The regional final will be next Tuesday.

FORT DODGE 10, MARSHALLTOWN 0 (5)

Marshalltown 000 00 — 0 3 3

Fort Dodge 205 21 — 10 6 0

Avery Mull and Gabby McWherter. Jalen Adams and Mariah Myers. W–Adams (18-3) L–Mull. 2B–FD: Meah McCaleb. 3B–MT: Gianna Baune; FD: Tory Bennett. SB–FD: Haley Wills, Ashlyn Wills, Maggie Elsbecker. DP–Marshalltown 1.