AMES — The 10th-ranked (Class 4A) Fort Dodge baseball team earned a pivotal early Iowa Alliance Conference sweep over Ames here Monday night.

Scores were 3-2 and 14-2 in five innings.

In the opener, the Dodgers (15-3 overall, 6-0 in the IAC North) plated single runs in the first, second and fifth. Tanner Peterson went the distance, striking out seven with just four hits and one walk allowed.

This marked the first time Fort Dodge has earned a sweep over the Little Cyclones since the 2017 season.

Bo Marsh had a double, Davis Underberg was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored, and Kolton Schiltz drove in a run. Marsh and Jaxson Dencklau each stole a base.

“When you can score as the visiting team in the first inning, that really puts a lot of pressure on the opponent,” FDSH head coach Blake Utley said. “Tanner did an excellent job in the first game. We had runners on, but we just couldn’t come up with that big hit (to break it open).”

After allowing a single to start the seventh, Peterson escaped the situation thanks to a smooth play by Marsh, as the catcher gunned down an Ames runner trying to steal second. The junior ace then finished off the inning with a ground out and a strikeout.

Fort Dodge exploded in the nightcap with two runs in the first, seven in the second and four third and one more in the fifth. Tru McBride had a home run, finishing 2-for-3 with three RBI and two runs scored. Tanner Peterson scored three times.

“We came out and were the aggressor,” Utley said. “It was fun to see the boys really swinging the bats. Davis had big two-out hits all night for us, Tru hit a line drive homer that got out in a hurry, and Cal Pederson had a big hit. Bo was on base nearly every single time up.”

Cal Pederson collected three hits, driving in two and scoring once, Will McElroy scored twice, as did Schiltz, as Marsh had two hits and an RBI.

Pederson finished with two doubles and stole a base.

“Bo was telling me that his parents said he hit his double at the same time as his sister (FDSH softball player Meg Marsh) did,” Utley said. “That’s pretty cool. I’m not sure something like that has happened very often.”

Mason Frevert picked up the win, striking out eight over five innings with just one walk issued.

Fort Dodge hosts Des Moines Roosevelt on Wednesday for a doubleheader beginning at 5 p.m.