Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: Fort Dodge's Kolton Schiltz (1) and Mason Frevert (17) celebrate after Schiltz hit a two-run homer against Marshalltown on Wednesday at McNeil Field.

As the Fort Dodge baseball team’s record climbs and its reputation grows, head coach Blake Utley is making a point to remind his ballclub that most of their successes and failures will come from within their own camp.

The Dodgers picked up their second Iowa Alliance Conference Northern Division sweep in 48 hours on Wednesday at McNeil Field, taking down Marshalltown by scores of 13-3 and 11-5.

Utley’s squad is still relatively young, but possesses plenty of experience and savvy. In order for the Dodgers (11-2 overall, 4-0 in the league) to reach that next level as a legitimate and consistent Class 4A contender, they must first stay out of their own way and handle business in their dugout — regardless of the opponent in the other one.

“That’s the sign of a maturing team — if you can turn the corner mentally and not let details or execution slip (regardless of the circumstance),” Utley said. “We remind our guys that your biggest opponent is yourself. In this game, so often, it’s you vs. you.

“It’s important to get to a point where, no matter who you’re going up against or the situation in front of you, your approach is the same. Your expectations are the same. And you aren’t going to let your concentration or intensity level fall off. We’re getting there with that. We obviously still have a ways to go, but they’re handling most of it in stride.”

Fort Dodge plated the first 10 runs in the opener and went up 6-0 in the nightcap before the Bobcats (4-8, 1-5) were able to respond. There were enough physical and mental mistakes via errors and walks to momentarily derail the Dodgers’ concentration, but both times, they got back into rhythm to seal the deal.

Junior Tru McBride went 4-for-4 with his third home run of the season in game one. McBride drove in a pair and scored four times.

Sophomore Cael Adams, the designated hitter, added a homer, two hits, two runs and two RBI. Juniors Kolton Schiltz and Tanner Peterson chipped in two hits each.

Junior Will McElroy went the six-inning distance on the mound with eight strikeouts.

Marshalltown committed seven errors and allowed six unearned runs.

Schiltz went deep twice and drove in five in the first three innings of the nightcap. McBride and FDSH were cruising — up 6-0 with McBride on no-hit watch through four — before free passes allowed the Bobcats to plate five with a comeback in the sixth.

“Tru had struck out eight of nine at one point, but he just got out of sorts some. He had been zoned in. That happens in this game from time to time,” Utley said. “We responded nicely with five of our own (in the bottom of the sixth). That was good to see.”

Tanner Peterson also went deep for the Dodgers. McBride tripled to help his own cause, with junior Bo Marsh and sophomore Reggie Pederson contributing doubles.

Senior Jaxson Dencklau added two hits and scored three times, while also recording the final five outs for the save.

“Jack was big for us at the end,” Utley said. “He did what a senior is supposed to do. He stopped the bleeding and put the momentum back in our favor.

“He’s a worker and he leads by example. He does a lot of little things that the younger kids can see and hopefully follow in his footsteps.”

Marsh and Reggie Pederson tallied two hits alongside Schiltz and Dencklau.

The degree of difficulty now increases for the Dodgers, who welcome Dallas Center-Grimes (5-5) for a single varsity make-up contest at 1 p.m. on Thursday. Second-ranked (Class 4A) Sioux City East (14-1) comes to town on Friday for a 1 p.m. start as well, followed by a 4 p.m. contest versus Sioux City West at McNeil Field.

FORT DODGE 13, MARSHALLTOWN 3 (6)

Marshalltown 000 030 — 3 6 7

Fort Dodge 052 321 x — 13 14 1

WP–Will McElroy (6 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K). 2B–FD: Kolton Schiltz, Davis Underberg, Tru McBride, Cael Adams, Bo Marsh; M: James Miron, Garrett Thede. 3B–M: Quinn McLeod. HR–FD: Tru McBride, Cael Adams. SB–FD: Tru McBride 2, Kolton Schiltz, Will McElroy, Reggie Pederson, Bennett Nekvinda, Tanner Peterson.

FORT DODGE 11, MARSHALLTOWN 5

Marshalltown 000 023 0 — 5 2 1

Fort Dodge 203 105 x — 11 11 1

WP–Tru McBride (5 IP, 0 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 6 BB, 9 K). 2B–FD: Reggie Pederson, Bo Marsh. 3B–FD: Tru McBride. HR–FD: Kolton Schiltz 2, Tanner Peterson. SB–FD: Reggie Pederson, Bo Marsh.