Iowa high school softball state tournament: Valley, Pleasant Valley to face off in 5A championship

FORT DODGE — A short stretch of inclement weather certainly didn’t rain on Valley’s parade.

The top-seeded Tigers – playing No. 5 Ankeny in the Class 5A softball state tournament semifinal – knew a thing or two about rain delays.

Valley experienced a three-hour and 42-minute delay against Johnston one season. Coach Tom Bakey does not remember exactly when, but he remembers the exact amount of time.

His squad spent that time singing and dancing in the dugout. The game resumed, Johnston got hot, and Valley lost in extra innings.

“From that point forward, in a rain delay, we say, ‘Go get something to eat, sit down, have fun and do what you need to do,’” Bakey said postgame.

Whatever Valley did during the delay – chatting with friends or juggling softballs, like Audrey Heller did – worked. The Tigers stormed past Ankeny, 8-1, and secured a spot in the 5A title game.

In the opening inning, Kari Rose’s sacrifice bunt helped Ireland Broderick score. A quiet second inning followed, and then a rain delay forced the teams back into the dugouts for nearly an hour and a half.

The scoring resumed in the third inning.

Rose once again brought Broderick around to score. Then it was Mackenzie Mohler’s time to shine. Her base hit scored both Rose and Marin Heller, giving the Tigers a 4-0 lead.

The scoreboard remained unchanged for Valley in the fourth, but Ankeny did pick up one run off a home run by Abby Rusher.

Mohler came out even stronger in the fifth inning. She sailed a three-run home run – her second of the tournament – over the left field fence. Those runs brought her RBI total for the game to five and for the tournament to nine, matching the all-class tournament best with one game left to play.

“Mack has had a really solid season all year,” Bakey said. “She’s hit the ball hard all year. Right now, she’s just really confident. She’s hitting the ball all over the park. That tells you when a kid is seeing the ball well.”

Broderick couldn’t let Mohler have all the fun, though.

In the sixth inning, Valley’s starting center fielder sent a ball of her own over the fence

“That was her first career home run over the fence, ever,” Bakey said. “So, that was extra special. I know how much work she’s put in to be the player she’s become.”

Valley’s 8-1 lead held through the top of the seventh inning, and a catch by Broderick for the third out of the inning sealed the victory for the Tigers.

The No. 1 seed survived and will play No. 2 Pleasant Valley for the state title on Thursday at 5 p.m.

Pleasant Valley 4, Urbandale 2

There was almost a Central Iowa Metropolitan League (CIML) matchup in the state championship game, but Urbandale couldn’t complete the comeback.

After going down to Pleasant Valley 4-0 through the first three innings, the J-Hawks managed two runs in the seventh. Bri Tigges and Kyra Kain each batted in a runner, but the Spartans held off Urbandale’s late surge.

Pleasant Valley pitcher Kaitlyn Merkel threw all seven innings, allowing three hits and two runs while striking out two. Mary Paige Withers and Sarah Rigdon both recorded two RBIs for the Spartans.

Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel .

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa high school softball state tournament: Valley, Pleasant Valley to face off in 5A championship