Sigourney, Carly Goodwin upset Martensdale-St. Marys in Iowa softball state championship

FORT DODGE — Carly Goodwin finally got her Iowa high school softball state championship.

In her final season at Sigourney, the Northern Iowa signee held strong against Martensdale-St. Marys – who boasted a solid pitcher of its own – and brought home that coveted title trophy.

“This was our goal the whole season,” Goodwin said postgame. “Being able to accomplish that is something really special, and to end my senior (year) that way is indescribable.”

For high school softball fans hoping for a pitchers' duel, this was it.

In No. 6-seeded Sigourney’s 3-2 win over No. 1 Martensdale-St. Marys, Goodwin tossed eight strikeouts and had no errors. The Blue Devils' pitcher, Campbell German, posted 13 strikeouts with just one error.

“We knew going into the game that she was a really good pitcher,” Goodwin said about German. “We just had to carry over our energy from the past few games. I think we had a really good game plan, and we carried through with that.”

The opening run of the game came easy and early on.

Goodwin knocked a pitch into center field that grazed the fielder’s glove and slipped over the fence for a home run. That pushed Sigourney out to a 1-0 lead after Martensdale-St. Marys couldn’t muster up a run in the first inning.

The Blue Devils returned the favor – and took the lead – in the second inning.

Sydney Bears scored off a Mac German single to tie it, then Aunie Berger scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch.

It looked like Martensdale-St. Marys took a two-run advantage in the third inning when Brynnly German ran home after Bears was forced out with a catch. But she was called out for leaving the base too soon and the run was reversed.

This is when the pitching really took over.

Goodwin struck out two of three batters in the fourth inning; Campbell German tossed all three. It was more of the same for Goodwin in the fifth, and Campbell German struck out two more right after.

It went three up, three down on both sides in the sixth inning – this time, without a single strikeout.

Everything changed in the top of the seventh inning.

Goodwin, leading off, got on base. Campbell German struck out the next two hitters. With two runners on – Goodwin and Amiya Smallwood – and the game on the line, Ava Fineran soared a single into center field and brought her teammates home.

After trailing for most of the matchup, Sigourney took a one-run lead.

The moment she tagged home plate, Goodwin flipped back into pitching mode.

“I knew they were at the bottom part of their lineup, so getting outs was really crucial,” Goodwin said.

She didn’t strike anyone out in the bottom of the seventh inning, but Sigourney’s defense stepped up behind Goodwin. Two Martensdale-St. Marys players made it on base, and then Sigourney forced two outs.

And in one last moment to shine, Goodwin took center stage: grabbing the final out of the game and securing her first and only high school softball state championship.

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: Sigourney, Carly Goodwin upset Martensdale-St. Marys in Iowa softball state championship