DES MOINES — The sixth-ranked Fort Dodge softball team edged Des Moines Roosevelt in the opener of a doubleheader on Wednesday night, but the Roughriders salvaged a split with a nightcap win.

The Dodgers (8-4 overall) won the first game 6-5, before dropping a 6-3 decision to Roosevelt (9-4).

“The first game was a dog battle,” said Fort Dodge head coach Andi Adams. “They came out and played hard and we battled. We came back and did what we needed to do and scored.”

In the first game the Dodgers pounded out 11 hits, led by three from both Ashlyn Wills and Ellie Doster. Doster drove in three runs. Meah McCaleb, Cadence Touney and Grace Nichols all drove in runs. Touney and Doster had doubles.

Roosevelt got on the board first taking a 3-0 lead after two. The Dodgers inched close with two in the third (3-2). Fort Dodge took and held on to the lead with four runs in the fifth.

Senior Lucy Porter went the distance, striking out five.

“I’m proud of the way Lucy kept her composure, because they can swing it,” Adams said. “It was the hottest game we’ve played this year, but the girls just kept going, especially the girls in the dugout, keeping the energy up.”

Sophomore Clara Page, the daughter of 1998 Fort Dodge graduate Nick Page, allowed just one earned run in a complete-game pitching performance for the Roughriders. Page also went 3-for-3 with two RBI doubles at the plate. Page had two hits in the second contest.

“She’s (Page) one of the hardest outs we’ve faced,” Adams said. “They came out ready to play right away.”

In the nightcap the Roughriders once again took a 3-0 lead and held on. The Dodgers got as close as 3-2, but Roosevelt plated three in the fifth.

Touney led the Dodgers at the plate with two hits. Doster, Meah McCaleb and Porter drove in runs. McCaleb’s hit was a home run.

“We have to be careful to not run ourselves out of bases,” Adams said. “We still want to be aggressive, but we have to be smarter.”

The Dodgers are back in action on Thursday when they host Waterloo East (0-11) in a doubleheader at Rogers Park.

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