Iowa State Softball Tournament Class 4A Quarterfinals Recap

FORT DODGE — When it rains, it rains cats and dogs.

While raindrops hit the Iowa state baseball tournament in Cedar Rapids, they avoided Fort Dodge and the state softball tournament. Still, the runs came in droves between No. 2 Dallas Center-Grimes and No. 7 Carlisle, which combined for 14 runs. Ultimately, it was Carlisle and its run avalanche that overwhelmed the Mustangs in an 8-6 victory.

It was a battle of experience between these two teams, with 11 seniors for the Mustangs and nine for the Wildcats. There were 49 years of coaching experience on display for DCG’s Steve Schlafke and 42 years for Carlisle’s Jim Flaws.

The Wildcats got off to a hot start, as junior Logan Brown’s fly-ball single scored the run by driving in Addyson Eginoire. Senior Kaliyah Freeman followed that up with a hard line drive single to bring in two runners and make it 3-0. After an error brought in eighth-grader Chloe Roling to score, senior Evan Johnson-Miers closed out the frame with a single to drive in Freeman, giving Carlisle a 5-0 lead at the top of the first.

DCG, however, would not be deterred, loading the bases and forcing Carlisle to beat a few pitchers before landing their third of the inning, sophomore Mallie Stoner. She would stop the bleeding and maintain a 5-2 lead after the first inning.

Despite all the experience in the ballpark and in the dugout, it was Stoner who would be the key player holding things together for Carlisle. After allowing a two-run double to Aubrey Johansen in the second inning to make it 5-4, Stoner allowed just one more home run in the fifth inning for the rest of the game. Carlisle’s four-hit, three-run fourth inning was ultimately too much for DCG to overcome.

With five saves this year, Stoner was called upon often and looked to fill the role of a veteran who could help Carlisle survive and advance against an equally experienced team.

“There wasn’t really a lot of pressure for me, because I just knew it was my job to go out there and throw strikes,” Stoner said. “My defense backed me up, but I’m used to getting into those situations.”

DCG’s season is coming to an end, as is Schlafke’s coaching career. The coach announced his retirement after 49 years of coaching, 22 with the Mustangs, with a career record of 1,378-671 all-time and 591-280 with DCG, not counting the consolation rounds of the 2024 state tournament that remain to be played.

Flaws knows how tough Schlafke teams can be, having defeated them in a thrilling game earlier this season on July 3. Behind this victory is the confidence that he and his squad can keep the train going in Fort Dodge.

“Just to beat them twice in the last two weeks is a huge honor,” Flaws said. “Coach Schlafke, he’s a legend. It’s sad to see him gone, but I hope I know when it’s time for me to retire too.”

No. 6 North Scott 2, No. 3 Norwalk 1

What happened between Dallas Center-Grimes and Carlisle was the exact opposite in the North Scott-Norwalk game.

After the Lancers got RBI singles from eighth-grader Laney Weige and senior McKinley Toohey in the top of the first to take a 2-0 lead, junior Chevelle Kingsley pitched a gem to hold on for the win. Kingsley recorded seven shutout innings, giving up just three hits and one walk. As a result, Kinglsey is 12-4 on the year and pushes her team to a semifinal matchup with Carlisle.

No. 1 North Polk 7, No. 8 West Dubuque 2

Like most of the season for the Comets, this was Ava Husak’s show.

The junior Drake softball player hit a three-run home run with two outs in the fourth inning to increase her team’s lead from 2-1 to 4-1.

“I was just hoping to hit a single up the middle and then the home run happened,” Husak said.

Her prowess there, coupled with just two runs and two hits in the pitcher’s circle that day, propelled North Polk to its 37th win of the season. After her team fell short last year while Husak played with a stress fracture, says her coach Rick Dillinger, this team is hungry to capitalize while the iron is hot.

No. 4 ADM 2, No. 5 Fort Dodge 0

After five and a half scoreless innings, ADM sophomore Ellis Smith and senior Aleah Johnson came together in the clutch with an RBI single by Smith and a sacrifice fly by Johnson to make it 2-0 in the bottom of the sixth. The star of the show, however, has to be sophomore Lauren Hagedorn, who threw seven shutout innings and allowed just six hits in the game.

The Tigers have won 14 of their last 15 games and are playing their best game at the right time, but they have a tough matchup coming up against fellow Raccoon River Conference member North Polk.

Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at[email protected]Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23.