MASON CITY — Patient and persistent, the Fort Dodge baseball squad bided its time until the opportunity opened up here on Monday against arch rival Mason City.

Once it did, the Dodgers pounced.

FDSH (18-9 overall, 7-3 in the IAC North) completed a road sweep of the Riverhawks for the first time since 2018, exploding late for a 7-1 victory in the opener before controlling the nightcap, 9-4.

Locked in a 0-0 pitcher’s duel between Dodger sophomore Tanner Peterson (6-1) and Mason City’s Lincoln Berding for six innings, the visitors finally broke through with a seven-run seventh. Senior Royce Pederson got the ball rolling with a two-run double, and Fort Dodge never looked back.

“We showed a lot of patience at the plate (FDSH walked 17 times in the doubleheader), and it ultimately paid dividends (in the opener),” head coach Blake Utley said. “Tanner and Berding were both on, but Tanner was able to finish because he kept his walks to a minimum and his pitch count low.

“Once we got into their bullpen, we were finally able to put some momentum together with that seven spot.”

Rylan Kingrey, Tru McBride and Hayden Porter all walked twice for the Dodgers, who drew 11 free passes in the first contest alone. Peterson did the rest, firing a complete-game one hitter with four strikeouts.

“Royce has had an outstanding year at the plate,” Utley said. “He’s really seeing the ball well. That was a clutch hit that finally broke the ice.”

Fort Dodge kept the ball rolling to start the nightcap, scoring four times in the first inning. McBride was 2-for-2 with three RBI, and Jaxson Dencklau drove in a pair.

Kingrey scored three times and had two hits. Pederson and Porter both contributed a pair of hits as well.

Senior Landen Grandors (3-2) worked five innings and gave up two earned runs, striking out four to earn the victory.

“Landen did a good job of throwing strikes,” Utley said. “He’s had a really good (varsity) career against Mason City, and given this was his last start up there, he wanted to make the most of it.”

Utley was impressed by the selective nature of his ballclub at the plate.

“Coach (Connor) McLeod preaches the importance of being disciplined and selective,” Utley said. “Our guys will work counts and draw walks if necessary, knowing it tends to pay off as the game goes on.

“It’s just great to get the (road sweep). We split at home (with the Riverhawks) and it left a bad taste in our mouth. Our guys were ready to go from the start — even before we left Fort Dodge. We saw it right away.”

The Riverhawks are 13-9 and 5-5.

The Dodgers now face Des Moines Lincoln (4-19) on Tuesday. The twinbill was moved up due to possible weather issues on Wednesday.

First pitch is set for 4 p.m. at McNeil Field.

FORT DODGE 7, MASON CITY 1

Fort Dodge 000 000 7 — 7 4 2

Mason City 000 000 1 — 1 1 3

WP–Tanner Peterson (6-1; 7 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K). 2B–FD: Royce Pederson. SB–FD: Cal Pederson, Tru McBride, Davis Underberg, Reggie Pederson.

FORT DODGE 9, MASON CITY 4

Fort Dodge 410 301 0 — 9 10 1

Mason City 002 002 0 — 4 6 1

WP–Landen Grandors (3-2; 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K). SB–FD: Davis Underberg 2, Tru McBride 2, Reggie Pederson 2, Royce Pederson.