Sigourney Defeats Martensdale-St. Marys in Iowa Softball State Title Game

FORT DODGE — Carly Goodwin has finally won her Iowa high school softball state championship.

In her final season at Sigourney, the Northern Iowa recruit held off Martensdale-St. Marys, which boasted a solid pitching force of its own, to take home the coveted championship trophy.

“That was our goal all season,” Goodwin said after the game. “To be able to accomplish that is something very special, and to end my senior (year) like that is indescribable.”

For high school softball fans hoping for a pitcher’s duel, this was it.

In sixth-seeded Sigourney’s 3-2 win over first-seeded Martensdale-St. Marys, Goodwin struck out eight with no errors. Blue Devils pitcher Campbell German struck out 13 with just one error.

“We knew she was a really good pitcher going into the game,” Goodwin said of German. “We just had to carry our energy from the last couple games. I think we had a really good game plan and we stuck with it.”

The opening run of the race came early and with ease.

Goodwin hit a pitch to center field that grazed the fielder’s glove and slid over the fence for a home run, pushing Sigourney to a 1-0 lead after Martensdale-St. Marys failed to score a run in the first inning.

The Blue Devils did the same, taking the lead in the second inning.

Sydney Bears scored a single from Mac German to tie the score, then Aunie Berger scored the deciding run on a wild pitch.

It looked like Martensdale-St. Marys had taken a two-run lead in the third inning when Brynnly German raced home after the Bears had been forced out on a flyout. But she was booed for leaving the base too early and the run was reversed.

That’s when pitching really took over.

Goodwin struck out two of the three batters in the fourth inning; Campbell German struck out all three. The same was true for Goodwin in the fifth inning, with Campbell German striking out two more right afterward.

In the sixth inning, both sides went up three runs and down three runs, this time without a single strikeout.

Everything changed in the seventh inning.

Goodwin, who led off, reached base. Campbell German retired the next two batters. With two runners on base—Goodwin and Amiya Smallwood—and the game on the line, Ava Fineran singled to center field to bring home her teammates.

After trailing for most of the game, Sigourney took a one-point lead.

As soon as she touched home plate, Goodwin switched back into pitching mode.

“I knew they were at the bottom of the list so it was really crucial to make outs,” Goodwin said.

She didn’t throw anyone out in the seventh inning, but Sigourney’s defense stepped up behind Goodwin. Two Martensdale-St. Marys players reached base and then Sigourney forced two outs.

And in her final moment to shine, Goodwin took center stage as she picked up the final out of the game to secure her first and only high school softball state championship.

Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at [email protected] or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.