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Waukee upsets Johnston to reach Class 5A state softball tournament, plus more regional final results

cody goodwin, des moines register
·8 min read

Waukee softball has been one of Class 5A’s best over the last five seasons, with four trips to the state tournament, three top-three finishes and two trips to the state finals. But on Tuesday night, the Warriors entered their regional final as the underdog.

Johnston, ranked No. 2 in Class 5A, was the favorite to win the Region 3 final — not just because of its 32-4 overall record entering Tuesday’s contest, but also because the Dragons had won three of four matches this summer against this same Waukee team.

These Warriors had other plans.

A 2-RBI triple from Ella McGee and a 2-hit complete-game performance from pitcher Lily Rand led Waukee to a 2-1 upset win over the mighty Dragons and ensured the Warriors’ spot at next week’s Class 5A state softball tournament in Fort Dodge.

Three other Des Moines metro schools — Waukee Northwest, Southeast Polk and Valley — also earned state tournament spots on Tuesday.

Waukee, now 25-14 overall this summer, pulled the biggest upset of any Class 5A regional final on Tuesday night by knocking off the second-ranked Dragons — not just by ranking, but also by those recent results.

Johnston and Waukee split their first doubleheader this season in mid-June, with the Warriors winning one game, 6-5, and Johnston winning the other, 13-1. The Dragons then blew through Waukee in their final two regular-season meetings, sweeping a late-June doubleheader by scores of 15-8 and 13-1.

In that late-June meeting, Johnston combined for 31 hits and 28 runs. The Dragons had improved to 29-3 while Waukee dropped to 21-13. On that night, a gap between those two teams was evident.

Since then, Waukee has won four of five, the only hiccup coming in an 8-3 loss to No. 7 Southeast Polk just before the postseason started. The Warriors beat Dowling Catholic 5-0 last week to reach the regional final, then topped Johnston on Tuesday.

Waukee will be the lowest-seeded 5A team in Fort Dodge next week, and will open the state tournament against the top-seeded hometown Dodgers, the returning 5A state champs who also reached the state finals in 2020.

Ella McGee, now a sophomore for the Waukee softball team, hit a 2-RBI triple in the second inning to lift the Warriors to a 2-1 upset win over No. 2 Johnston on Tuesday night.
Ella McGee, now a sophomore for the Waukee softball team, hit a 2-RBI triple in the second inning to lift the Warriors to a 2-1 upset win over No. 2 Johnston on Tuesday night.

More Class 5A softball regional results and notes

Here’s a rundown of the other Class 5A regional final games from Tuesday night:

  • First-year school Waukee Northwest beat Council Bluffs Lincoln 14-0 and is headed to the state tournament. Senior Reagan Bartholomew went 2-for-3 with a triple, a home run, and 5 RBI.

  • Fort Dodge edged Ames, 3-1, thanks to Tory Bennett’s 2-RBI double in the second inning and another Jalen Adams pitching gem: 13 strikeouts and one hit allowed over 7 innings.

  • West Des Moines Valley thumped Iowa City High, 13-1. The Tigers scored 7 runs in the second inning and 6 more in the third, and are headed to the state tournament for the 16th time in the last 19 years.

  • Southeast Polk won a topsy-turvy game over Ankeny, 4-3. The Rams led 3-0 early, then Ankeny tied it 3-3 in the fourth, then Southeast Polk retook the lead in the fifth. Freshman Jesslyn Stairs went 2-for-2 with a home run and 2 RBI.

  • Linn-Mar pulled the other upset in 5A regional action, downing fifth-ranked Ankeny Centennial 9-4. The Jaguars led 4-2 after the fifth inning, then Linn-Mar scored 7 in the sixth to win.

  • Pleasant Valley scored 3 runs in the fifth inning and 3 more in the sixth to beat Cedar Rapids Prairie, 7-3. Sophomore Mary Paige Withers went 3-for-4 with 2 RBI.

  • Muscatine cruised through Iowa City Liberty, 9-1. Maura Chalupa struck out 8 over 6.2 innings and Brylee Seaman went 1-for-3 with 3 RBI.

The Southeast Polk softball team poses for a photo with its state qualifier banner after beating Ankeny 4-3 in Tuesday's Class 5A regional final in Pleasant Hill.
The Southeast Polk softball team poses for a photo with its state qualifier banner after beating Ankeny 4-3 in Tuesday's Class 5A regional final in Pleasant Hill.

Class 5A state softball pairings

The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union released the Class 5A state tournament pairings on Tuesday night.

Here they are in full. Action begins on Monday morning at the Harlan Rogers Sports Complex in Fort Dodge.

  • #1 Fort Dodge (35-6) vs. #8 Waukee (25-14), Monday, July 18, 11 a.m.

  • #4 W.D.M. Valley (26-13) vs. #5 Southeast Polk (25-12), Monday, July 18, 11:30 a.m.

  • #2 Muscatine (35-4) vs. #7 Pleasant Valley (26-12), Monday, July 18, 12:30 p.m.

  • #3 Waukee Northwest (32-7) vs. #6 Linn-Mar (36-4), Monday, July 18, 1 p.m.

Class 4A softball regional results and notes

The Class 4A regional softball finals also unfolded Tuesday night, setting the stage for next week's state tournament in Fort Dodge. Many central Iowa teams were among the winners.

Here's a rundown of what happened:

  • #3 Dallas Center-Grimes 10, Bishop Heelan 1 — sophomores Aubrey Johansen and Macee Reiling both hit home runs as the Fillies dominated Bishop Heelan.

  • #6 Indianola 12, Glenwood 2 — Indianola freshman Izzie Benge struck out 9 over 5 innings while Kiley Kindelspire went 4-for-4 with a double and 5 RBI and both Selia Becker and Hanna Graham hit home runs.

  • #2 ADM 5, Carroll 4 — Addison Banse hit a homer and recorded 3 RBI while sophomore Cameran Smith allowed 2 hits and struck out 5 over 6 innings. ADM scored the walk-off game-winner on a throwing error.

  • #5 Carlisle 5, #10 Bondurant-Farrar 4 — Laney Schick's walk-off single sends the Wildcats back to the state tournament in a game where it was 3-3 after the first inning and 4-4 in the middle of the seventh.

  • #1 Winterset 4, #13 Fairfield 3 — Jena Young hit her state-leading 20th home run and the Huskies never trailed en route to a state tournament berth.

  • #4 Norwalk 7, #14 Benton 6 — Benton scored 5 in the fifth to go up 6-2, then Norwalk scored 5 in the seventh to walk-off and win.

  • Burlington 1, #7 Clear Creek-Amana 0 (10 inn.) — Burlington stunned CCA in extras to reach state for the first time since 2011. Sophie Brown reached on a leadoff bunt single, stole second with two outs, then scored on a throwing error.

  • #8 North Scott 5, Maquoketa 0 — Maddy McDermott struck out 9 and allowed 1 hit in a complete-game effort for the Lancers.

Class 4A state softball pairings

The IGHSAU released the Class 4A state tournament pairings on Tuesday, too. Action will follow the 5A first round games on Monday in Fort Dodge:

  • #1 Winterset (34-4) vs. #8 Burlington (20-13), Monday, July 18, 3 p.m.

  • #4 Norwalk (29-7) vs. #5 Carlisle (27-10), Monday, July 18, 3:30 p.m.

  • #2 ADM (32-4) vs. #7 North Scott (28-10), Monday, July 18, 4:30 p.m.

  • #3 Dallas Center-Grimes (33-6) vs. #6 Indianola (27-12), Monday, July 18, 5 p.m.

Class 3A softball regional results and notes

The Class 3A softball regional finals also wrapped up Tuesday night. Here's a rundown of the winners with highlights from each game:

  • #14 Sioux Center 8, #5 Estherville Lincoln Central 3 — The Warriors scored 4 runs in the second to upset the fifth-ranked Midgets. Tatum Schmalbeck finished 2-for-3 with a double, a triple, and 3 RBI.

  • #6 Saydel 11, Sergeant Bluff-Luton 2 — Saydel advances to state tournament for the first time since 2007 after Dakota Lake struck out 10 over 7 innings and Dakoda Wright hit a home run.

  • #1 Mount Vernon 5, Algona 2 — A 4-run fifth inning lifts the top-ranked Mustangs to the state tournament.

  • #3 Williamsburg 7, Atlantic 0 — Peyton Driscoll struck out 13 and allowed 2 hits over 7 innings. Rylee Vercande hit a solo shot and Elle Ridgeway went 2-for-4 with a double and 2 RBI.

  • Ballard 8, #4 West Liberty 1 — Bombers knocked off #9 Roland-Story and #4 West Liberty to win Region 5 and reach the state tournament.

  • #2 Davenport Assumption 9, Sumner-Fredericksburg 0 — Knights outscored their three regional opponents by a combined 32-0. Bella Nigey and Leah Maro combined for a perfect game in the circle. Nigey struck out 10 over 5 innings.

  • Wahlert Catholic 8, West Delaware 7 — Wahlert scored 5 in the sixth to turn a 6-3 deficit into an eventual 8-7 win and qualifies for state for the first time since 2009.

  • #10 Davis County 3, #7 West Burlington-Notre Dame 2 — Davis County is headed to state for the first time.

Class 3A state softball pairings

The IGHSAU also released the Class 3A state tournament pairings on Tuesday. The first-round games will be split between Monday night and Tuesday morning next week in Fort Dodge:

  • #1 Mount Vernon (33-4) vs. #8 Dubuque Wahlert (23-16), Monday, July 18, 7 p.m.

  • #4 Saydel (31-4) vs. #5 Davis County (23-8), Monday, July 18, 7:30 p.m.

  • #2 Davenport Assumption (34-8) vs. #7 Ballard (16-20), July 19, 11 a.m.

  • #3 Williamsburg (32-10) vs. #6 Sioux Center (22-9), July 19, 11:30 a.m.

Cody Goodwin covers wrestling and high school sports for the Des Moines Register. Follow him on Twitter at @codygoodwin.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Waukee softball tops No. 2 Johnston, reaches Class 5A state tournament