Savages Secure First Title Appearance with Wins Over Remsen St. Mary and Southeast Warren

FORT DODGE—The Sigourney Savages made their trip to Fort Dodge for the 2024 Class 1A State Tournament on July 23. They started things off with a matchup against the #2 ranked Remsen St. Mary’s Hawks. The Savages stormed past the Hawks by a final score of 3-1.

It was a pitching duel all game until the sixth inning, where junior Ava Fisch started things off with a triple. After Fisch’s leadoff triple, senior Carly Goodwin brought her home with a single to center field and gave the Savages the first run of the game.

Junior Ava Fisch spoke on her bolt to third base after the game with, “Going through my head, I saw her miss it and knew I had good batters behind me who could move me. Dani can bunt, Carly and Jo have been hitting well. I was just watching Shelly making sure I got to third. We ended up scoring three, which is great.”

“When I walked back into the dugout everyone was congratulating me. We were all hyped up. We were ready to keep going,” said Fisch.

Two batters later, senior Erin Dawson stepped into the box with runners on second and third. She delivered a two run single that would push the lead to 3-0.

After the game, senior Erin Dawson spoke on her approach as she stepped up to bat as, “I’m thinking about knocking that thing as far as I can get it to get my girls home. I told Carly on the third, ‘I am here for you, I will get you home.’ Hitting has been tough for me for a little bit, but I have been working on it hard and coaches have been helping me. I have teammates that are hyping me up in the dugout. Everything just clicked, and I hope we can do it again tomorrow.”

These two runs ended up being the insurance runs the Savages needed, as the Hawks scored their one and only run in the bottom of the seventh.

Sigourney Head Coach Shelly Streigle described her team’s three run sixth inning with, “Our team goes as Ava goes when it comes to hitting the ball. I just knew at that moment that it was going to be okay. I think we all knew it. Different people stepping up. Erin kind of struggled with her bat during the regionals, but she worked really hard on getting it fixed and it showed tonight.”

After the game, senior Carly Goodwin spoke on securing their first victory in the quest for a state title with, “Check one off of our three checklists. Getting that first win is really special, since we had never experienced it before. We are going to go back to the dorms to celebrate, but then we have to know that tomorrow brings a new day with a new game.”

The Savages advanced to the semifinals of the Class 1A State Tournament, and matched up against a familiar foe in Southeast Warren. The Savages and the Warhawks have faced off in Fort Dodge twice in the past three seasons, and have split the game.

The Savages came out on top this time, clinching their first state title game appearance in program history with a 6-1 victory over the Warhawks.

Junior Josephine Moore put on a hitting clinic for all the softball fans. She started the scoring with a sacrifice-fly in the first inning, and opened things up with a two-run homer in the fifth inning. 

Eighth grader Ella Bruns added one more in the fifth with an RBI single, but the Warhawks responded with their first run of the game in the top of the sixth.

Senior Erin Dawson once again added insurance runs, this time from a two-run double in the bottom of the sixth. These runs would help elevate the Savages to their 6-1 victory over the Warhawks.

With the win, the Savages secured their first appearance in the state title game in school history.