Home run from Neela Applegate pushes Winterset softball past Dallas Center-Grimes in Class 4A state championship

FORT DODGE — Winterset and Dallas Heart-Grimes softball went head-to-head Thursday night time for the Class 4A state championship, and it was the Huskies who got here out on high with a 3-1 victory over the Mustangs.

Dallas Heart-Grimes began off scorching, with the Mustangs first batter Elle Nelsen recording a base hit to set the tone early. Lydia Zaruba bunted and made it to first, after which each runners superior to second and third on a wild pitch. However Winterset’s protection stepped up and saved DCG from changing that scorching begin into runs.

The Mustangs tagged Winterset star Jena Younger out at first on her first hit however ended the inning shortly after the Huskies’ first base hit from Bridget Stover.

Within the second, Dallas Heart-Grimes’ Summer season Campbell squeezed a base hit completely between Winterset’s proper fielder and the foul line, however the Huskies picked up the third out to quash DCG’s hopes of advancing.

Winterset’s scorching protection continued within the third. After throwing out Nelsen at first, Huskies first baseman Neela Applegate did the splits to reel in a move from Younger to get Zaruba out at first.

“I used to be simply apprehensive about getting the out, doing no matter it takes to get that out for my crew as a result of it was an excellent large out to get,” Applegate informed the Register postgame.

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Dallas Heart-Grimes picked up some momentum however couldn’t do something with it earlier than the third out.

Within the backside of the third, Younger doubled out in heart area, after which Riley Kious hit a double of her personal to ship Younger residence for the primary rating of the sport.

The fourth inning was comparatively uneventful, at the least till Dallas Heart-Grimes picked up its second out. Olivia Huston’s hit scored Macee Reiling to tie the sport, however there was a little bit of controversy for the reason that Huskies’ catcher thought she had tagged her out.

Winterest went three up, three down within the backside of the fourth, however Dallas Heart-Grimes did not capitalize on the momentum from the tying run within the high of the fifth, with the Mustangs additionally going three and out. The fifth inning was additionally when Winterset took the lead again.

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Younger singled into heart area, after which two batters later, Applegate despatched one over the fence for her third residence run of the season. She and Younger went residence and handed Winterset a 3-1 lead that stood by means of the tip of the sport.

“I had all the religion in her,” Younger, who leads the state in homeruns, mentioned about her teammate. “About each single one on this crew has hit a house run and I simply knew she may do it. It didn’t matter if it was a house run or a base hit, I knew I used to be gonna rating.”

Huston made it to 3rd, however by then the Mustangs had two outs and couldn’t muster sufficient offense to get previous the Huskies’ stingy protection. Applegate’s homerun was sufficient to win the 4A championship for Winterset, the Huskies first since 2020.

Extra softball: Dwelling runs propel Dallas Heart-Grimes softball previous North Scott, 9-3, in Class 4A state semifinal

Applegate led the Huskies with two RBI off one hit, whereas Kious added the opposite RBI. Thea Banning pitched all seven innings for the Huskies, permitting six hits and hanging out 5 whereas posting a 1.000 ERA.

“Simply the expertise we’ve had and sort of the heartbreak additionally made us robust (this season),” Younger mentioned. “We knew we needed to come collectively this final season for our seniors and simply the truth that we’re a small city, we simply play for one another.”

Listed below are the 4A All-Event crew picks: Thea Banning (Winterset), Aubrey Johansen (DCG), Bridget Stover (Winterset), Izabella Mulder (DCG), McKinley Toohey (North Scott), Reagan Roling (Carlisle), Maddy McDermott (North Scott), Olivia Huston (DCG), Riley Kious (Winterset), Macee Reiling (DCG) and captain Jena Younger (Winterset).

Alyssa Hertel is the school sports activities recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.