MASON CITY — The opening contest of Fort Dodge’s baseball doubleheader on Monday at Mason City had a familiar feel.

On the mound, it was a rematch of last year’s Class 4A substate opener, as Fort Dodge’s Tanner Peterson opposed Riverhawk ace Lincoln Berding.

Fort Dodge took three of four games from Mason City last year during the regular season, but Berding — who came on in for relief in the substate win — was looking to repeat the 2025 performance.

Peterson (2-1) got his revenge this time around, throwing a two-hitter and striking out nine in a 1-0 Dodger victory.

Berding went the distance, allowing three hits and fanning 13.

The Dodgers (9-2 overall) then opened it up in the nightcap, swiping 11 bases and earning a 9-2 win over the Riverhawks (5-5).

The lone run of the first contest came in the fourth inning, when freshman Hayden Porter singled and saw second base was open. He took advantage and the extra 90 feet. Senior Jaxson Dencklau then punched the ball through for the only run of the game.

“I would like to say we treated it like a normal (twinbill), but deep down, we knew it wasn’t,” said FDSH baseball coach Blake Utley. “We mentioned it a little bit that we won three of four (in 2025 vs. Mason City), but they beat us in the postseason. The guys remember and know that.

“It was a great pitching match up between Tanner and Berding. It was just a great high school baseball game.”

Dencklau, Porter and junior Bo Marsh had the only hits for the Dodgers in the opener.

In the nightcap, junior Davis Underberg swiped three bases, while junior Kolton Schiltz and junior Tanner Peterson had two each. Junior Will McElroy, Dencklau and Porter each stole a base.

Senior Caiden Fraher had one in the opener.

“We always try to be aggressive on the bases, but after the first game, we were questioning our philosophy after getting picked off a couple of times,” Utley said. “A large part of that was Berding has a good pick-off move. He’s one of the best pitchers we’ve seen.

“We stayed the course in Game 2. We got some good reads and took third a couple of times. We were super aggressive.”

Fort Dodge had eight hits in the contest, led by two from Schiltz. He was 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs.

Junior Tru McBride had a double and drove in a run. Dencklau had two RBI.

Also driving in runs were Porter, McElroy, Marsh, and sophomore Reggie Pederson.

Mason Frevert (1-0) earned his first win of the season. The junior allowed three hits in five innings of work with four strikeouts.

“I thought we swung the bats well in that one,” Utley said. “Obviously each game is different with different pitchers, and they used quite a few. We got it going and put up a five spot in the third inning and went with the momentum.

“We played good situational baseball. Hitting a sacrifice fly and hitting the ball over the head of a drawn in infield, or just going with the pitch when necessary.”

Fort Dodge is back in action on Wednesday when they host Marshalltown.