Mady Schnell's walk off home run sends Van Meter softball to the Iowa state championship

FORT DODGE — Extra innings. A spot in the state championship game on the line. An eighth grader up to bat.

The ending to Van Meter’s matchup with East Marshall in the Iowa high school softball state tournament semifinal sounds like a movie script.

The top-seeded Bulldogs – who rarely chased the lead this season – found themselves tied late in Wednesday’s Class 2A matchup against No. 4-seed East Marshall.

But with one out on the scoreboard and the game tied at three apiece, Mady Schnell stepped up to the plate. Her goal: Get on base. She did so much more, forcing the ball over the center field fence for a walk-off home run in the 4-3 win.

There is possibly no better time for a player’s first career home run than in a high-stakes, win-or-go-home game in the state tournament.

“She locked in,” Van Meter head coach James Flaws said postgame. “She’s been working all year hitting the ball up the middle in that left-center field gap and she did that on that pitch. She stepped up in a huge way.”

An air of jubilation surrounded Schnell as she rounded the bases and her teammates – screaming, clapping, jumping for joy – met her at home plate.

Last season, the Bulldogs season ended their season with a loss in the state title game.

On Wednesday, Schnell put the cherry on top of a comeback sundae to ensure Van Meter had the opportunity to avenge last year’s setback.

And outside of the game-winning, career-first home run, the semifinal game was far from a typical Van Meter game.

The Bulldogs posted a 41-1 record en route to Wednesday's semifinal and outscored opponents 400-47 along the way. Van Meter’s games often ended early, with a shutout, or both.

But against East Marshall, the Bulldogs didn’t score first. Mustangs’ sophomore Peyton Grabenbauer recorded the first run of the game.

Van Meter didn’t even get a hit until the fourth inning. By then, East Marshall led by two, but Cali Richards’ base hit into center field scored Lauren Wallace from second base to cut the deficit in half.

The Mustangs added another run in the sixth inning, which led to another atypical moment for the Bulldogs.

Flaws gathered his players in the circle and replaced ace pitcher Maddie Waldorf with Bianca Prickett. Waldorf moved to first base, where she helped tag out the next batter and put Van Meter back on offense.

“Our dugout believed in our pitcher that was starting and then the one we brought in,” Flaws said.

The Bulldogs tied the score in the bottom of the sixth, off a double from Finley Netten that sent Schnell home and a sacrifice fly from Richards that allowed Netten to score.

The seventh inning passed quickly, with three consecutive outs on both sides. East Marshall managed to get a player to second base and then strike out Van Meter’s first batter of the extra frame, but no one could’ve predicted what would come off Schnell’s bat.

One run is all the Bulldogs needed to win the game, and Schnell made sure she got it in style.

“I don’t think I have to motivate this group,” Flaws laughed. “I think they’re pretty hungry from last year. The next game is the game we’ve been trying to get to all year, so to go play that game is pretty exciting for this group.”

Van Meter will play in the state title game on Friday at 5 p.m.

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: Mady Schnell's walk off home run sends Van Meter softball to the Iowa state championship