The Van Meter softball squad breathed a collective sigh of relief after their 11-3, six-inning win over East Marshall in a Class 2A state quarterfinal on Tuesday afternoon at Rogers Park.

The final score may look like another dominant victory for the top-seeded Bulldogs and their high-powered offense. In reality, the outcome was still hanging in the balance before Van Meter (32-2 overall) exploded for seven runs late to turn a shaky 4-3 lead into a mercy-rule triumph.

“We were just trying to stay relaxed and calm,” said Finley Netten, who homered to help spark a Van Meter rally in the bottom of the third that erased an early 2-0 deficit. “We beat (the Mustangs) in last year’s semifinals, and knew they’d be a tough out.

“I was actually just thinking top half (on the home run) and trying to get something started, but I ended up hitting it perfect and it went out.”

The defending champion Bulldogs, who have the state’s most prolific lineup with an aggregate .416 batting average and an Iowa-best plus-288 run differential, were held in check by Peyton Grabenbauer until a two-out rally in the third. Netten went deep, Ava Hohenadel drilled an RBI double down the line, Halle Karaidos followed with a double of her own, and Bianca Prickett beat out an infield single in the four-run frame.

The Mustangs (27-10) didn’t go away quietly. A pair of two-out errors brought Vaeda Bryan home and pulled East Marshall back within a run at 4-3 in the fourth, and it would stay that way until the sixth. That’s when the dam broke and the wheels came off for the unranked visiting team.

Prickett, Hohenadel and Marah Karaidos all had two hits for Van Meter, which got a hit from every starter in the lineup. Jillian Wosmansky (14-1) earned the win, giving up two unearned runs on a two-out double in the first from Mustang Bailey Grant. Aniston Netten worked the final three innings for the save.

“It was kind of a rough start, but we found a way and it feels good to move on,” senior catcher Cali Richards said. “We staued calm and confident and just played our game.

“We’re so close and really are a family here. We trust each other and the process.”

The Bulldogs now face West Fork (23-6) in a 2A semifinal on Wednesday at 3 p.m. on Iowa Central Field (Diamond 2). East Marshall takes on Durant (21-13) on the consolation side at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday on Dodger Diamond.

VAN METER 11,

EAST MARSHALL 3

East Marshall 200 100 — 3 5 4

Van Meter 004 007 — 11 12 3

WP–Jillian Wosmansky (14-1; 3 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K); SV–Aniston Netten (3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K); LP–Peyton Grabenbauer (5.2 IP, 12 H, 11 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 1 K).

2B–VM: Alice Ruggles, Ava Hohenadel, Aniston Netten, Halle Karaidos; VM: Bailey Grant. SB–VM: Maddy Schnell, Finley Netten.

Multiple Hits–VM: Ava Hohenadel, Bianca Prickett, Marah Karaidos; EM: Ashtyn Wheater.