PELLA — A two-year drought ended in dramatic fashion Tuesday, as DC-G rallied in the top of — and held off Pella in the bottom of — the seventh inning for a 6-5 win in their Class 4A Region 4 Final.[wpedon id=”85410″ align=”left”]
The win returns the Fillies (18-22) to the state tournament for the first time since the third of their three consecutive state titles was won in 2015.
The win sets up a State Quarterfinal with top-seed ADM (33-7), who blasted Norwalk (19-15), 8-1, in the Region 3 Final. DC-G will square off with ADM at 1 p.m. Tuesday on Buena Vista Diamond (the main field), at Harlan Rogers Park in Fort Dodge. The Tigers were 11-5 victors over the visiting Fillies June 6 in their only meeting of the regular season.
DC-G will be making their eighth overall appearance at the state tournament. They reached the regional final by stunning Carlisle, 7-6, in the semifinal round.
In that contest, the Fillies entered the top of the seventh facing a 3-2 deficit. They scored five runs to open a 7-3 lead, then had to hold on as the Wildcats scored three times and nearly forced extra innings.
Tuesday’s win at Pella followed a similar pattern. Tied at 2-all, DC-G suddenly found themselves facing a 3-2 deficit after a Little Dutch solo home run in the bottom of the sixth.[wpedon id=”85410″ align=”left”]
As on Saturday against Carlisle, DC-G came to life in their final at-bat. A RBI-double from Amber Fistler tied the game, with two-out run-scoring hits from the seventh and eighth batters in the lineup — Morgan Rosenbeck and Lani Gannon — drove three runs home for a 6-3 advantage.
And, as on Saturday, the drama was far from done, as the home team rallied in their final turn at the plate. Pella quickly loaded the bases with no outs and scored twice, though two outs were recorded in the process. Leading 6-5, DC-G recorded the final out to preserve the win and start a celebration.
The Fillies are seeded eighth in the 4A field in Fort Dodge. Fourth-seed Newton (24-7) faces fifth-seed Cedar Rapids Xavier (25-16) in the other quarterfinal in the top half of the bracket.
Charles City (33-6) is seeded second and faces Des Moines Hoover (seven seed, 18-7) while Independence (34-6), the third seed, battles sixth-seeded Sergeant Bluff-Luton (23-13) on the bottom half of the bracket.
