Late Game Heroics From Bruns and Aller Lift Savages to Second Straight State Tournament

SIGOURNEY—On July 16, the #6 ranked Sigourney Savages hosted the Wapello Arrows with a spot in the Class 1A State Tournament in Fort Dodge up for grabs. The Savages secured the 2-1 victory via an eleventh inning walk-off single from eighth grader Ella Bruns.

Senior Carly Goodwin was once again lights out on the mound. She ended her night with 11 innings pitched, one earned run on 11 hits and 22 strikeouts. The senior pitched a shutout until the top of the seventh, where the Arrows scored the first run of the game off an Ada Boysen triple.

The Savages would not go down without a fight. Eighth grader Ella Bruns led off the inning with a triple to put the tying run 90 feet from home plate. Two outs later, junior Dani Aller stepped up for the final out for the Savages. Aller found herself down to her final strike, and continued to fight and foul balls off at the plate. She waited for pitched, and ripped one up the middle to tie the game up at one apiece. 

After the game, Aller spoke on her at-bat with, “I was kind of scared, but I knew I had Carly behind me, so I could back at her. When I swung at the two strikes, she told me what to fix. I just then hit it. I knew I could do it. I had confidence after my first couple at bats being a little rocky. Other than that, I hit the ball. I need what I need to do.”

The Savages and Arrows continued in a fierce matchup, where neither team let up. The Savages found themselves in an opportune situation after Amiya Smallwood reached base on an error. 

Eighth grader Ella Bruns once again stepped into the box with an opportunity to be a hero. She did not mince from the moment, and ripped a single to centerfield. Bruns, the eighth grader, sent the Savages to their second straight state tournament.

After the game, Bruns described the moment with, “I think the adrenaline was running. It was tied, and I knew it was probably going to be the last inning. I had to get a base hit, and I got it.”

Senior Carly Goodwin spoke on her pitching performance, and how she managed to stay locked in through the duration of the extra innings, with, “We have preached to focus on the batter. I knew I had to focus on that in the moment. I got that job done for my team. I knew I had to show them that I had their back in order to keep this thing going on our side.”

“I know that they have my back, and I clearly have theirs. It just means so much to see them step up in the moment,” explained Goodwin on the late game heroics from Dani Aller and Ella Bruns.

All season long, Head Coach Shelly Streigle has emphasized stepping up when the moment calls. After the game, Coach Streigle described what she saw from her team with, “I can’t say enough about any of these girls. They fight, they fight until the end. They fight for everything. They take their opportunities and make the most of them.”

The Savages will face off against Remsen St.Mary in the first round of the Class 1A State Tournament at 7:30 PM at Harlan Rogers Sports Complex in Fort Dodge.

When asked about what they hope to accomplish at the state tournament, Coach Streigle responded with, “I want to win it all. If we are going, let’s go for it!”