Norwalk girls soccer team falls in Class 2A state semifinals

For the second consecutive year, the Norwalk girls were left on the doorstep of the Class 2A state soccer title game.

The Warriors finished its season 17-4 after losing to Waverly-Shell Rock in the 2A semifinals at Cownie Soccer Complex on June 2, 1-0. It was the second time Waverly beat Norwalk 1-0 this season.

Despite taking 20 shots with 13 on target compared to WSR’s three and two, Norwalk couldn’t break through or get the equalizer after Macy Smith’s first-half corner kick found the back of the net for what was the winning goal.

Little Hawkeye rival Dallas Center-Grimes would go on to beat Waverly in the final, 2-0, to avenge a 5-1 loss to them in the 2021 final.

Some of Norwalk’s top scorers played their final game for the Warriors, including senior Jocelyn Bice, who finished the season third in the state with 46 goals and also contributed 11 assists. Bice wrapped up her career with 79 goals in three seasons (didn’t have 2020 season due to pandemic) as the Warriors went 45-12 in that time. Reagan Teut (seven goals, 12 assists this season), Marin Randall (five goals, 10 assists), Serenity Madonia (two goals, eight assists) and Hailey Schreiber (three goals, six assists) will also graduate.

Softball

The Norwalk extended a winning streak to eight games and opened the season 9-1. Two doubleheader sweeps of conference foes Pella and Newton, along with a 3-2 win over Oskaloosa, had the Warriors in great position in the Little Hawkeye Conference.

Norwalk won at Pella twice on June 1, scoring five runs in the sixth inning to break open a scoreless tie in a 6-0 win, and completing the sweep with a 10-2 win after scoring in each of the first four innings.

After striking out 10 at Pella, Zadie Wadle fanned 12 the next night, June 2, at Southeast Polk in a 2-1 win. Taylor Condon and Lauren Black each drove in runs. On June 3, the Warriors needed extra innings but won another one-run game versus Oskaloosa, 3-2. After falling behind 2-0, Norwalk rallied with two runs in the fifth and won in the bottom of the eighth as Savannah Welch beat the throw home from third on a fielder's choice grounder.

Olivia Dougherty pitched a shutout in a 4-0 win over North Mahaska with 11 strikeouts on June 4 at an invitational held in Oskaloosa. Also there, Wadle struck out 17 in a 2-1 win over Mount Vernon, who lost for the first time this season. Black went 2-for-3 with a home run.

Black also hit the game-winning, two-run homer on June 6 as the Warriors won 2-0 at Newton despite getting just three hits in the game. Addi Downe earned the win after giving up three hits and striking out 12 in 6 1/3 innings. Wadle racked up 14 strikeouts in the other game of the Newton doubleheader, an 8-0 Norwalk win.

The Indianola girls also had a winning streak, a five-game stretch that included a doubleheader sweep of Grinnell and a 12-inning thriller over West Des Moines Valley.

Playing at the Valley tournament on June 4, the Indians (7-4) beat Des Moines Lincoln, 6-2, behind two doubles and two RBI from Mara Bishop and six innings of four-hit ball from Izzy Sloan.

In the 5-4 win over Valley, both teams scored a run in each of the eighth, ninth and tenth innings before scored on an error in the 12th. Izzie Benge pitched all 12 innings for Indianola, allowing six hits.

Indianola swept the day after an 8-7 win over Boone as Kiley Kindelspire went 3-for-3 and Ava Tichy earned the win.

On June 6, Indianola got three home runs in an 8-3 win at Grinnell and two more in a 14-9 slugfest won by the Indians. Jordyn Gripp hit three on the night, two in the second game, while Kindelspire went 4-for-5 with three RBIs in game two.

Carlisle was off to a 5-2 start on the softball field and also took part in the Valley tournament, beating Dowling, 4-2, and losing to Johnston, 10-0. Logan Brown earned the win versus Dowling as Isabelle Noring drove in three runs.

The Wildcats beat Gilbert on June 1, 10-5, and got home runs from Laney Schick and Caylin Furnal in the win. On June 2, Carlisle dominated Carroll, 10-0, with Riley Sievers going 2-for-2 with two RBI. The Wildcats also beat North Polk on June 6, 7-3, as Furnal homered and Reagan Roling went 3-for-4 with two RBI.

Baseball

The Norwalk boys were riding a five-game winning streak after sweeping Newton in a doubleheader on June 6. The Warriors (11-5) scored three in the top of the seventh, including two on an RBI-double by CJ Davis to win 3-1. In game two, Norwalk’s Ian Fisher threw six hitless innings with nine strikeouts in a 6-0 shutout with Davis closing the final inning for the combined no-hit effort.

Norwalk beat Oskaloosa 4-3 on June 3 after tying the game in the bottom of the sixth and winning the seventh. Dylan Christensen pitched four innings without giving up a hit and struck out seven.

Indianola was 10-6 after a sweep of Pella Christian on June 1, outscoring the Eagles 18-3 and 9-0, and a split with Grinnell on June 6. Bennett Brueck struck out nine in four innings in a 5-4 win over the Tigers but Indianola only got three hits in game two’s 4-2 loss. The Indians also fell to Urbandale, 14-4, on June 2 and Dallas Center-Grimes on June 3, 4-3.

Carlisle got a big win over Carroll, 11-1, on June 2 as Jack Lenhart went 4-for-4 with a double, home run and three RBIs while pitching five innings and giving up two hits with six strikeouts. The Wildcats (7-5) lost to Van Meter on June 4, 5-4, and dropped one to North Polk on June 6, 12-4. Archer Ogbourne homered in the loss to North Polk.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Norwalk girls soccer team falls in Class 2A state semifinals