St. Edmond takes down Collins-Maxwell at Iowa high school state softball tournament

FORT DODGE — Collins-Maxwell did a good job slowing down a potent Fort Dodge St. Edmond lineup, but the No. 5 Spartans could not come up with the timely hits when they needed them on offense in a 4-2 loss to the No. 4 Gaels during the state softball tournament Tuesday.

St. Edmond (26-5) broke a 2-2 tie with two runs in the bottom of the fifth.

Josie Harvey hit a leadoff single, stole second and went to third on a Hadley Oswald sacrifice bunt. Spartan ace Erica Houge, a Western Kentucky signee, intentionally walked Iowa commit Mariah Myers, who stole second to put runners on second and third.

Harvey scored on a passed ball, and Lauren Gibb followed with an RBI triple for the decisive runs.

"It's so exciting," Myers said. "We've been working so hard for this all year. We put the ball in play, made the defensive plays, and we're moving on."

Collins-Maxwell fell to 27-4 despite outhitting St. Edmond, 7-5.

"Give them credit, they did what they had to do to win," said Collins-Maxwell coach Troy Houge. "I thought our girls fought hard and they had a shot to win it. We were the better-hitting team tonight, we just didn't get runs across."

Collins-Maxwell scored both of its runs in the top of the third when Haylee Merryman and Erica Houge hit back-to-back singles. Jayden Peters followed with a two-run double down the third base line.

"Jayden stepped up big," Erica Houge said. "She was ready to hit the ball, and that's what we needed."

Peters later singled to start the top of the sixth, but a double play on a ball hit to Myers at shortstop ended the Spartan threat.

In her first at-bat, Peters hit a deep fly ball to center field with runners on the corners and two outs. The ball took Gibbs right to the fence, but she made the catch to end the frame

"I was a little bummed out," Peters said. "Even though I didn't get it (a home run), I tried my best. I came in really excited. We all knew we had to do our part, and I wanted to do my part as an individual."

Houge went 2-for-3 with a double, and she scored one run for Collins-Maxwell. Hannah Kimberley went 2-for-3 and Merryman had one hit for the Spartans.

Erica Houge contained St. Edmond's powerful lineup. The Gaels entered the state tournament hitting .374 and have posted 268 runs, an average of 8.9 runs per game.

But St. Edmond showed discipline against the Spartan ace. They frequently put the ball in play, limiting Erica Houge to a season-low four strikeouts.

"We knew they were going to be solid all-around defensively, and offensively," Erica Houge said. "It looked like they had a game plan for me, and it worked for them. They choked up on the bat trying to get a piece of it, and they were finding those gaps."

Erica Houge and Myers, who entered the tournament hitting .621 with 13 home runs, both said they had fun going up against one another.

"She's great," Myers said of facing Erica Houge. "We worked all week on trying to hit off her speed, spin and everything. She's just phenomenal."

Myers went 1-for-2 with a walk and two runs.

"I love facing the best hitters," Erica Houge said. "We got what we wanted — the bloop and the ground-out. The last time up we just didn't want to chance it."

Collins-Maxwell still gets another chance to end the season on a high note. The Spartans will play in the 1A consolation round on Wednesday.

Top-ranked Martensdale St. Marys survives a scare

Martensdale St. Marys survived a scare from No. 8 seed Edgewood-Colesburg in the 1A quarterfinals on Tuesday.

The Blue Devils scored one run in each of the fourth and fifth innings, and they held on thanks to a brilliant pitching performance from Campbell German. The senior held the Vikings to three hits and racked up 13 strikeouts against just one walk.

The Blue Devils will take a 29-6 record into Wednesday's semifinals against St. Edmond. Brynnly German and Sydney Bears both singled and drove in a run, Ellie Baker singled and scored, and Shelby Woods hit a double for MSM.

Edgewood-Colesburg heads into the consolation round with a 29-11 record. Claire Aulwes was 3-for-3 with an RBI for the Vikings, and Rachel Eglseder took the loss after allowing two earned runs on five hits with three strikeouts and two walks.

Joe Randleman covers high school sports for the Ames Tribune. Contact him at jrandleman@gannett.com . Follow him on Twitter at @JoeRandleman

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: St. Edmond takes down Collins-Maxwell at Iowa high school state softball tournament