FORT DODGE — Campbell German ran into a little trouble in the seventh inning of No. 1 Martensdale-St. Marys' Class 1A semifinal game against No. 4 Fort Dodge St. Edmond at the state softball tournament Wednesday.
German had completely dominated a potent Gael lineup for six innings to help her team take a 2-0 lead. But in the seventh, she walked St. Edmond's Kaili Henning to lead off the inning, and three batters later gave up an RBI single to Ansley Oswald.
Oswald was the tying run at first when Josie Harvey came to the plate. But German showed the poise of an elite pitcher and did not get rattled.
She retired Harvey on strikes to cap a 2-1 victory that sent the Blue Devils to the 1A championship game for the second year in a row.
"I was definitely anxious," German said. "But these girls are gritty, and we got it. That's all that matters. We're very excited."
German struck out 13 batters on the night. She held a St. Edmond team that came into state averaging nearly nine runs a game to just two hits.
"I was just hitting my spots," German said. "Knowing what batters were up and what their weaknesses were — hitting my spots for sure helped."
German, who has signed to play softball in college at South Dakota along with her sister Brynnly German, received all the run support she needed within the first three innings. Maryann Hart drove in the first run in the bottom of the second when she followed a leadoff double from Sydney Bears with a two-out RBI single up the middle.
"Someone needed to do it," Hart said. "Someone needed to get the motivation coming. I was really nervous, but it feels really good."
Campbell German drove in the second Blue Devil run in the bottom of the third. Brynnly German reached on an error and Campbell German knocked her in with a single.
Bears ended the game 2-for-3 to help MSM advance to the 1A title game with a 30-6 record. The Blue Devils will try to make up for a 6-0 loss to North Linn in the 2023 1A championship game.
"We're definitely going to need to get our bats more alive for sure," Campbell German said. "But I know we're all excited. We're ready to go."
St. Edmond fell to 26-6 heading into the 1A third-place game.
Mariah Myers, the top hitter in 1A, singled to lead off the game to account for the only other St. Edmond hit of German. Henning threw a strong game in defeat, giving up just one earned run on four hits with eight 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: Campbell German powers Martensdale-St. Marys past St. Edmond in Iowa state softball tournament
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