-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Kolton Schiltz of Fort Dodge slides around the tag against Waukee on Friday

Fort Dodge opponents have come to find out quickly what the Dodger baseball team is made of.

Head coach Blake Utley’s team features a gritty bunch of never-say-die players who battle with every pitch whether it’s at the plate, on the mound, or in the field.

Entering Friday night’s doubleheader, fourth-ranked Waukee (10-1 overall) saw that firsthand, as their perfect season came to a close at nine games.

Sophomore Kolton Schiltz hit a walk-off double in the opener to give the Dodgers (5-2) an 8-7 victory. The Warriors won the nightcap 8-7.

The home side nearly gave the large crowd gathered around Ed McNeil Field a sweep, putting the lead runner in scoring position in the sixth and the tying score at third in the seventh but Waukee came away with the win.

“It’s all about being better from week to week,” Utley said. “We made good strides from last week’s split with Dowling and turned in three of four victories this week. It was great watching all our guys compete in every situation.

“I felt like it happened pitching, hitting and even defensively. We gave a good Waukee team all they could manage.”

The game one victory that saw the home side overturn an early 5-0 deficit was led by the senior duo of Rylan Kingery and Royce Pederson.

Kingery had three hits, two of which were doubles, and scored twice to kickstart the offense. Pederson, after a tough start on the mound, rallied back with his bat, delivering a key three-run double that spotlighted a six-run third.

Schiltz’ hit was the play of the night, as he blasted a pitch deep in the early evening that Waukee center fielder Will Biggs tried to track down. It bounced off the wall, sending classmate Tru McBride in with the winning run and into celebration with his teammates.

Game two was just as nip-and-tuck. Waukee jumped out fast much like the opener, holding a 5-1 lead after three-and-a-half innings.

Utley’s crew stepped up again, as sophomore Tanner Peterson laced a three-run double during a five-run fourth that gave the Dodgers a 6-5 edge.

However, the visitors managed a two-run sixth inning rally and then held off the aforementioned attempt at late-game heroics by the Dodgers.

Fort Dodge (5-2) returns to Ed McNeil Field Monday. They open Iowa Alliance Conference action with a 5 p.m. twinbill against Mason City.

FORT DODGE 8, WAUKEE 7

Waukee 320 001 1 – 7 10 1

Fort Dodge 006 100 1 – 8 10 3

WP–Tanner Peterson, LP–Gavin DeJesus. 2B–W: Lincoln Brown, Grant Sorenson; FD: Kingery 2, McBride, Pederson, Schiltz. HR–W: DeJesus.

Waukee 8, FORT DODGE 7

Waukee 104 102 0 – 8 6 3

Fort Dodge 015 001 0 – 7 6 0

WP–Cael Seiler, LP–Reggie Pederson, S – Carter Johnson. 2B–W: DeJesus, Sorensen; FD: Peterson. HR–W: Ryan Lengeling.