Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: Fort Dodge senior Maeleena Meyer makes a catch on Thursday against Ballard at Rogers Park. For more photos, please visit CU.messengernews.net

The delay was worth the wait for the third-ranked (Class 4A) Fort Dodge softball team here Thursday night.

With rain hitting the area, the non-conference contest between the Dodgers and Ballard was shifted to the turf field at Rogers Park. That wasn’t enough, though, to keep the contest from being pushed back nearly two hours after lightning and more rain swept through the area.

Once all that was finished and the skies cleared up, Fort Dodge honored seniors Teryn Rippentrop and Maeleena Meyer while also posting an 8-0 victory in six innings over the Bombers.

Rippentrop finished with a hit, an RBI, a run scored and a steal, as Meyer went 2-for-3 with an RBI, a run scored and a steal.

“I’m just so proud of both Teryn and Mae,” FDSH head coach Andi Adams said. “It shows the dedication and commitment, the time and effort they’ve given to this program. It’s never easy to stay out year after year when you might not be playing as much as you want to be, but they both drove themselves to be better.

“They are incredible leaders. I’m so happy we were able to give them this special moment.”

The Dodgers (34-4 overall) picked up their seventh straight win, taking the lead in the second inning after back-to-back RBI singles from Meyer and Emersyn Lara out of the No. 8 and No. 9 spots in the lineup. Macy Wills and Calliegh Zimmermann both scored after reaching on base hits.

In the fifth, Grace Nichols blasted a two-run homer — her third in two nights — to make it 4-0. Fort Dodge then put Ballard (9-19) away in the sixth with four runs.

Aubrey Alstott moved to 18-1 inside the circle, pitching five-plus innings with just one hit allowed and four strikeouts. Sydney Carver came on in the sixth and picked up the final two outs.

Ellie Doster, Nichols, Wills and Lara joined Meyer with two hits each. Nichols drove in three.

“It took us a little while to get going at the plate,” Adams said. “Ballard has been playing much better as of late. They have had close games with (No. 6, 4A) Winterset and (seventh-ranked, 4A) North Polk. That’s a team that could be a sleeper come tournament time.”

Rippentrop, who has committed to Indian Hills to continue her softball career, is someone Adams plans to use as a selling point for her program in the coming years. She had just 31 runs, 29 hits, six RBI and 14 steals in her entire career entering the season.

Through 38 games as a senior, Rippentrop has scored 49 runs with 58 hits, 35 RBI and 21 steals.

“Teryn has put in so much time and energy into this,” Adams said. “She is the true definition of a kid who will never stop improving because she will never stop working. She’s constantly in the cage getting in swings.

“I can’t wait to see what her future holds.”

Fort Dodge will finish out the regular season on the road next week, heading to No. 10 (5A) Cedar Falls on Monday and eighth-rated (5A) Waukee on Tuesday before returning home to host either Sioux Center or MOC-Floyd Valley in the first round of regionals next Saturday at Rogers Park.

FORT DODGE 8, BALLARD 0 (6 inn.)

Ballard 000 000 — 0 1 1

Fort Dodge 020 024 — 8 13 0

WP–Aubrey Alstott (18-1, 5.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 4 K, 1 BB). LP–Emmalyn Kruse (7-15, 5.1 IP, 13 H, 8 ER, 0 K, 0 BB).

HR–FD: Grace Nichols. 2B–FD: Ellie Doster, Macy Wills. RBI–FD: Hope Alstott, Teryn Rippentrop, Grace Nichols (3), Maeleena Meyer, Emersyn Lara. SB–FD: Teryn Rippentrop, Maeleena Meyer, Emersyn Lara.