FORT DODGE — ADM’s magical march toward their first-ever state title in softball continued Wednesday with a thrilling 9-8 win over Newton in the semifinal round.[wpedon id=”85410″ align=”left”]
The victory sets up a meeting between top-seeded ADM (35-7) and seventh-seed Des Moines Hoover (21-7) at 5:45 p.m. Friday for the state crown. The Huskies blasted sixth-seed Sergeant Bluff-Luton (24-14), 11-1, in five innings, in their semifinal.
Hoover, who plays in the Central Iowa Metro League Metro Division, is the second-largest 4A team with a BEDS (students in grades 10-12 the previous year, this number is used for classifications) total of 811. ADM is 40th among the 48 4A schools with a BEDS total of 384.
The Tigers have been the bridesmaids three times, finishing second as a Class 2A team in both 1994 and 1995 and placing second as a 3A squad in 2007. They tied for fifth place (rain outs erased all consolation games) in their last appearance at Harlan Rogers Park, in 2008.
Wednesday’s scrap with Newton was a hard-earned victory, as the Cardinals — the third consecutive Tiger victim from the Little Hawkeye conference — kept the pressure on until the last moment.
ADM scored once in the second inning for a quick lead, but Newton countered with three third-inning runs before the Tigers tied the game with two tallies in the bottom of the third.
Newton led, 5-3, after their next at-bat, but the first double of the season from sophomore Emily Hlas helped ADM score three times in the fifth to snatch a 6-5 edge.[wpedon id=”85410″ align=”left”]
The lead lasted all of one frame, as Newton tied the contest in the top of the sixth, setting the stage for big-stage dramatics in the bottom of the inning.
ADM had two runners aboard with the dangerous Ashley Tennant batting when a wild pitch sent the runners to second and third base. With first base open the Cardinals opted to continue pitching to Tennant, who fouled off a series of pitches before crunching the 10th pitch of her bat over the fence in left-center for a three-run home run and a 9-6 Tiger lead.
The bomb was the 15th of the season for Tennant and lifted her BRI total to 50. She had driven in a run with a base hit earlier in the game.
The Cardinals had six of their 13 hits never leave the infield. They stranded 12 runners in the loss and had three runners retired on force outs at the plate but refused to go quietly despite the emotional blow of the Tennant bomb.
Newton promptly scored twice to close to within 9-8 and had a runner on second base with two outs. ADM catcher Tennant, whose bat delivered the big blow in the sixth, used her arm to provide the final blow as the Newton runner — believing a low pitch had skipped away — broke for third base, only to be tagged out by Brooke Hickey on the Tennant’s peg.[wpedon id=”85410″ align=”left”]
Abbie Hlas survived allowing 13 hits and issuing eight walks thanks to calmly working out of several jams and earn the pitching win for the Tigers. She finished with one strikeout, with two of the Newton runs unearned.
Emily Kay aided the ADM cause at the plate with a pair of hits and two RBIs.
Tennant is the lone senior for head coach Rick Dillenger’s squad, by far the youngest team in the 4A field.
Junior right fielder Emily Hatchitt is the only other upperclassman for the Tigers. Hatchitt has been a true warrior of late, fielding her position while having stitches near her knee after accidentally clearing herself.
Newton (25-8) will play SB-L (24-14) for third place on Diamond 2 at 4:45 p.m. Friday.
The IGHSAU no longer plays consolation round fifth and seventh-place games despite playing a consolation semifinal round. In those games Wednesday, Cedar Rapids Xavier (26-17) ripped DC-G (18-24), 11-0, in five innings, with Independence (35-7) topping second-seed Charles City (33-8), 8-4.
