GRIMES — Dallas Center-Grimes used the long ball to pull away in a ranked matchup with the Fort Dodge softball squad here on Tuesday.

The seventh-ranked (Class 5A) Mustangs plated the game’s final four runs to defeat the No. 6 (4A) Dodgers by a 7-4 final.

“We definitely did some good things and showed fight,” FDSH head coach Andi Adams said. “We always say when we lose, we learn.

“DC-G deserves credit. They hit some absolute no-doubters. I think it was the first time we looked a little intimidated. But that’s OK. It’s May, and we were facing a terrific opponent.”

Junior Ellie Doster continued her torrid early stretch with a two-run single in the first inning and a two-run homer in the third. The Dodgers led 4-2 after Doster’s long ball, but the Mustangs settled down and took care of business from there.

DC-G rallied from a 4-3 deficit in the fifth on a go-ahead two-RBI double by senior Addison Lyddon. Chloe Evans provided a pair of insurance runs with a two-run shot in the sixth.

Mustang sluggers Evans, Lyddon and Jenah Gray all went deep.

Senior Teryn Rippentrop had three hits and scored twice for Fort Dodge (2-1 overall). Tessa Jones settled in after the Doster homer and worked a complete game with seven strikeouts for DC-G.

“We had our opportunities and were ahead in the fifth,” Adams said. “Our kids are very coachable. They listen. We will bounce back. But this schedule is relentless and we have to be OK with sometimes coming up short by challenging ourselves in this way.”

The Dodgers are back in action on Thursday at home against Boone. First varsity pitch is set for 7 p.m.

DALLAS CENTER-GRIMES 7, FORT DODGE 4

Fort Dodge 202 000 0 — 4 6 0

DC-G 201 022 x — 7 12 1

WP–Tesssa Jones (7 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 5 BB, 7 K); LP–Sydney Carver (2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 1 K). 2B–FD: Macy Wills; DC-G: Addie Abens 2, Genevieve York, Addison Lyddon, Jaycee Jamison. HR–FD: Ellie Doster; DC-G: Chloe Evans, Addison Lyddon, Jenah Gray. SB–FD: Macy Wills, Teryn Rippentrop.