After being denied an early lead on perhaps the best catch in state softball tournament history, top-seed Dubuque Wahlert exploded for a 7-1 win over Prairie City-Monroe to reach the Class 3A championship game for the first time ever.

Wahlert looked like it was going to jump ahead 3-1 in the bottom of the third inning on a blast to center field by Anna Roling, but PCM’s Libby Winters made an incredible catch, reaching over the fence to deny Roling and keep the Mustangs ahead 1-0.

It was short lived.

Wahlert, now 36-7, plated four runs in the bottom of the fourth, getting a no-doubt three-run homer from pitcher Julia Roth for a 3-1 lead and the Golden Eagles never looked back.

They’ll play in the 3A title game Friday at 2:30 p.m. on the Channel Seeds field. Waiting for them will be two-time defending state champion Williamsburg, which topped Wahlert in last year’s semifinals, 3-2.

“With this group, they played a lot of ball together and with the experiences they’ve had, they’ve faced a lot of adversity,” said Wahlert coach Tyler Lang. “It (losing the homer) was just another block in the road and we were able to fight through it.”

Wahlert, seeking its first ever-state title, added three more runs in the fifth inning, again with the long ball. Natalie Ruba belted a two-run homer to left for a 6-1 lead and Roth added a solo shot to left two batters later to make it 7-1.

Roth, who will play at Iowa next year, said the Golden Eagles didn’t flinch when Roling made her catch to rob the home run. They just went back to work.

“She made a great play, credit to her,” said Roth. “We were shocked, but we knew we were going to keep hitting. We knew they were going to fall.”

Wahlert missed the team record for home runs in a 3A state tournament game by one. New Hampton had four in a game in 2013. Roth joined several players with two home runs in a single game.

“We’ve had a lot of home runs this year. We didn’t hit the ball well on Monday night (a 1-0 win over No. 8 seed Center Point-Urbana),” said Lang. “We’ve played a really tough schedule. We faced seven teams that are down here (at state). I think 29 of our 43 games were against ranked teams, or teams that were ranked. We’re battle tested.

“This is the third year in a row that we’ve been to the semifinals, so to be able to bust through with the same group we’ve had feels good. In previous years, those first three innings would have kind of snowballed on us, but our experience and maturity really showed through. I’m proud of the girls.”

Wahlert finished with 17 hits, also one shy of a 3A state tournament record.

Haley Lang finished with four hits while Kylie Sieverding and Sadie Schultz had two hits each. Schultz also drove home a run in the fourth inning.

Roth now has 24 home runs on the season and the Golden Eagles have 46 as a team.

PCM (26-5) took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third when Kyra Naeve reached on an infield single to score Winters from third. Winters had doubled to lead off.

Both teams missed chances early. Wahlert left the bases loaded in the bottom of the first and PCM left them full in the top of the second.

Roth, now 16-5 in the circle, got some great defense behind her as well. Ruba made two diving catches to rob PCM of base hits and Lillian Humpal made a diving catch in center to end the game for the Golden Eagles.

“I just keep it simple and trust my defense,” said Roth. who finished with six strikeouts.

PCM will finish its season Friday in the Class 3A third-place game at 1 p.m. against Albia.

DUBUQUE WAHLERT 7, PRAIRIE CITY-MONROE 1

PCM 001 000 0 — 1

Wahlert 000 430 x — 7

LOB–PCM 9, Wahlert 11. 2B–Libby Winters. HR–Julia Roth (2), Natalie Ruba. HBP–Camden Webb, Tori Lindsay. SACB–Addi Hudnut, Lillian Humpal, Natalie Ruba. SB–Hadley Millang.