The Fort Dodge softball team never panicked against Boone here on Thursday, eventually rallying from a late deficit to post an 11-3 victory in six innings.

The sixth-ranked (Class 4A) Dodgers exploded for nine runs in the bottom of the sixth after trailing 3-2. Freshman Emersyn Lara had a three-run double to cap the comeback, while junior Ellie Doster had a two-run two-bagger of her own earlier in the frame.

“Seeing us just keep grinding away, not forcing too much and trusting each other was very encouraging,” FDSH head coach Andi Adams said. “I wasn’t worried, and the kids didn’t seem to be, either. Our youth showed at times, but our confidence never wavered.

“Our veterans were calm and set the tone. (Seniors) Teryn (Rippentrop) and Mae (Meyer) really stepped up in the field especially.”

Eight different Dodgers had hits, and the only regular who didn’t — freshman Meg Marsh — walked twice. Sophomore Grace Nichols doubled, and freshman Macy Wills tripled and scored twice.

Sophomore Sydney Carver worked the final 1.1 innings of relief and picked up the victory.

“We aren’t taking anything for granted,” Adams said. “There are a lot of talented teams out there. Boone was very athletic.

“It’s still so early, and we’re ‘practicing’ a lot during games, so to speak, going through situaitons as they happen and working things out (on the fly) because we haven’t been able to address them yet in practice.”

Fort Dodge returns to action on Monday at Mason City for its IAC opener.

FORT DODGE 11, BOONE 3 (6)

Boone 000 300 — 3 6 2

Fort Dodge 000 209 — 11 8 1

WP–Sydney Carver (1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K). 2B–FD: Grace Nichols, Emersyn Lara, Ellie Doster. 3B–FD: Macy Wills. SB–FD: Meg Marsh.