-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Makenna Hughes of Williamsburg connects for a double against Washington during 3A quarterfinals on Tuesday at Rogers Park in Fort Dodge

Williamsburg was nursing a tenuous one-run lead in the sixth inning of its Class 3A quarterfinal contest against Washington at the state softball tournament on Tuesday morning.

The two-time defending champion Raiders weren’t sweating. They were smiling.

Four insurance runs broke the game wide-open, and Williamsburg advanced with a 7-2 victory that was closer than the final score indicated.

Head coach Adam C. Berte’s squad will now face Albia in the semifinals on Wednesday. The Lady Dees scored a walk-off 2-1 win over Estherville-Lincoln Central to move on.

The seventh-seeded Demons (29-10 overall) weren’t an easy out. Williamsburg (34-7) took a quick 2-0 lead in the second inning, but Washington tied it in the third and still trailed only 3-2 heading into what would be the Raiders’ last trip to the plate.

That’s when senior Carly Rich came through with a two-run double to give Williamsburg some breathing room. Alley Gorsh then delivered the knockout blow with a two-run homer, pushing the Raiders into the semifinals for the sixth consecutive season.

“We felt like it was only a matter of time — it just took a little longer than we expected,” said Berte, a Livermore native, 2004 Twin River Valley High School graduate and former Iowa Central Triton baseball player. “No one panicked. The girls were hitting the ball hard…they just hadn’t found the gaps.

“We always fight hard, and thankfully, it worked out for us and (the squad) finished the job.”

Gorsh had four hits to lead the way. Ava Hocker was 2-for-2 with a two-run triple to break the ice for Williamsburg in the second from the No. 9 spot in the order.

“I don’t think we were nervous — just excited,” said Gorsh. “Thankfully, a lot of of us know how to handle this (at state) and the emotions you go through, having been here so many times before.

“We just had to relax, play with confidence, and eventually, we knew we could (take control).”

Colbie Greiner’s two-run homer in the third was the only blemish on the ledger sheet of Raider ace Jersey Metz (18-5), who struck out seven in a complete-game four-hitter.

Williamsburg meets Albia at 4:45 p.m. back on Channel Seeds Field (Diamond 1) Wednesday for a trip to the 3A finals. The Raiders, who have been a juggernaut with Berte at the helm, were gold medalists in 2023 and ’24, runner-ups in 2020, and third-place finishers in 2021 and ’22.

Washington will square off with Estherville-Lincoln Central (23-8) in a consolation matchup at 10 a.m. Wednesday on Yankee Field.

WILLIAMSBURG 7,

WASHINGTON 2

Washington 002 000 0 — 2 4 2

Williamsburg 020 104 x — 7 10 0

WP–Jersey Metz (18-5; 7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K); LP–Isabella Salazar (6 IP, 10 H, 7 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 0 K).

2B–WI: Ava Hocker, Carly Rich, Makenna Hughes; WA: Ella Greiner. 3B–WI: Ava Hocker. HR–WI: Alley Gorsh; WA: Colbie Greiner.

Multiple Hits–WI: Alley Gorsh (4), Ava Hocker (2); WA: Ella Griner (2).