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Dubuque Wahlert set the tone early and never looked back as it took care of Van Meter in a Class 3A second-round contest on Tuesday at Rogers Park, 7-2.
Seven different batters had hits and six scored runs for the second-seeded Golden Eagles, who are in Fort Dodge for the fifth consecutive season. They were simply too much for the Bulldogs, who made the move up to 3A this year after capturing back-to-back 2A championships.
Wahlert (37-6 overall) plated three runs right out of the gate, and when Van Meter clawed back within 3-2 in the fourth, the Golden Eagles responded by flying away.
Leadoff batter Julia Roth collected three hits, including a pair of doubles. As a squad, Wahlert had five two-baggers, including two from both Roth and Natalie Ruba.
Ruba, Addison Klein and Ruth Tauber knocked in two runs each. Roth fired a complete game, surrendering two earned runs with a pair of strikeouts and no walks to move to 12-2 on the season.
Roth and Tauber have been doing damage all season long -- and throughout their respective careers. The senior tandem has been a dominant force, with Roth becoming Iowa's all-time home run leader earlier this summer and Tauber committed to the University of Northern Iowa.
Wahlert was a state runner-up a year ago to three-time defending 3A titleist Williamsburg, which was knocked off on Tuesday by Mount Vernon.
Aniston Netten had two hits and scored twice for Van Meter (33-7), the No. 6 seed who advanced with an upset victory over Albia on Monday. Delanie Lyftogt and Ashlan Small both drove in runs.
The Golden Eagles are back in action on Iowa Central Field at 5:15 p.m. on Wednesday. The Bulldogs are in an elimination contest at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday at the same location.
WAHLERT 7, VAN METER 2
Van Meter 010 100 0 - 2 7 1
Wahlert 300 112 x - 7 11 2
WP- Julia Roth (7 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K); LP-Aniston Netten (1.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K). 2B-VM: Aniston Netten; DW: Julia Roth 2, Natalie Ruba 2, Addison Klein. SB-VM: Aniston Netten; DW: Ruth Tauber.