Dawson Dinger Lifts Savages to Fifth in State

FORT DODGE—For the sixth time in school history, the Sigourney Savages made the trip to Fort Dodge for the ISHSAU State Softball tournament. This marks the second time in three years that the Savages made the trip. This year, the Savages matched up against the Lynx of North Linn. This will be the fifth consecutive year that the Lynx secured a spot in the state tournament with the highlight being championships in 2019 and 2021, while placing second in 2020. The Savages fell to the Lynx in extra innings by a final score of 1-0. The Lynx went on to win their next two games, and secure the state championship. This marks the second year in a row the Savages were knocked out by the eventual state champion.

Coming into the game, it was known this would be a pitching battle, as both pitchers have a sub 2.00 ERA on the year. Carly Goodwin sits at 0.22, the lowest in the state of Iowa, while North Linn’s Ellie Flanagan has an ERA of 1.54. The pitchers lived up to the hype, as Goodwin finished her day with seven and two thirds innings pitched, no earned runs on four hits and 12 strikeouts. On the other side, Flanagan finished with eight innings pitched, no earned runs on four hits and seven strikeouts.

After the game, Goodwin spoke on her stellar performance against one of the best teams in Class 1A with, “It feels good. Going into the game I knew that they were the best hitting team in 1A. Once I got those first couple innings done, I knew I was capable of anything. I trusted my gut, and it really worked.” 

The Savage offense was able to get runners on base, but were not able to capitalize on it. They started the first two innings with their leadoff batter getting on base, but were unable to plate either runner. 

The first opportunity for the Savages came in the fifth inning. Ava Fineran smacked a single with one out to put a runner on base. Ava Fisch then laid down a perfect bunt, and was able to scurry her way to first safely. After a Rain Barthleman strikeout, Carly Goodwin stepped up to the plate with runners on first and second. Goodwin proceeded to rocket one to right center field, but the North Linn right fielder made a great jump on the ball and made the play to end the inning. 

The biggest scoring opportunity the Savages had was in the top of the seventh. Courtney Hemsely stepped up, and fought her way to drawing a walk. Dani Aller stepped up next as a pinch hitter, and dropped a perfect sacrifice bunt to advance Hemsley to second. Hemsley then stole third base on a passed ball, and found herself 90 feet from home base with only one out. North Linn’s Ellie Flanagan then locked in, and struck out the next two Savages at the plate. 

In the bottom of the eight, North Linn secured the victory with a walk off single to advance to the semifinals of the IGHSAU State Softball tournament. 

After the game, Sigoureney Head Coach Shelly Streigle described the experience with, “It’s a great experience. That could’ve been the final, I wish it was the final. We obviously didn’t take advantage of some situations, and didn’t execute in some situations we needed to, but they played hard. They did everything they could. North Linn made some great plays at shortstop and second base. Their pitcher is playing hurt, and she showed a lot of heart.”

Streigle wrapped it all up by saying, “I’ll take my team any day, win or lose.”

Coach Streigle spoke on the performance from pitcher Carly Goodwin with, “Carly always plays with a lot of heart and emotion, while being calm, cool and collected. She showed that today again. She showed she’s one of the best in the state regardless of class.”

Lastly Coach Striegle emphasized that she wants to end her season with a win over Southeast Warren. She described it with, “We are going to cap this one off with a win. Not many teams in sports get to finish the year on a winning note, and that’s the plan.”

Starting pitcher Carly Goodwin spoke on the experience with, “It was awesome. We knew coming into this game there were a lot of upsets this week. So, we knew anything was possible. We had a lot of confidence and it showed. In certain instances we made the most of it. There were a few innings we didn’t capitalize with runners on base, but going to extra innings against the number two team in the state is something to be proud of. We just gotta take care of business tomorrow.”

After the loss, the Savages matched up against the Southeast Warren Warhawks for a chance to secure a tie at fifth place. The Savages took down the Warhawks by a final score of 2-0, and secured fifth place in the Class 1A IGHSAU State Softball tournament. 

Carly Goodwin was once again lights out from the mound, as she finished her day with seven innings pitched, no earned runs on three hits and nine strikeouts. Goodwin held the Warhawks offense to a combined batting average of 0.130.

The game stayed at dead heat until the fourth inning. Erin Dawson stepped up to the place with a runner on. Dawson cranked the ball over the fence to give the Savages a 2-0 lead.

Carly Goodwin continued to make light work of the Warhawk offense en route to securing the 2-0 victory for the Savages.

With the victory, the Savages tied for fifth place in Class 1A with the Remsen St. Mary Hawks. They finished up their season with their third straight conference title, and an overall record of 25-7.