The state softball tournament gets under way on Monday with the Class 5A quarterfinals at Harlan Rogers Park.
The Class 5A field includes the top four teams in the final rankings, but a rash of upsets in regional play also saw three teams ranked ninth or lower make it to Fort Dodge along with unranked Cedar Rapids Prairie.
Will the upsets continue this week? Or will one of the favorites emerge as the champion on Thursday night?
Here is a closer look at Monday’s quarterfinal matchups:
No. 1 Valley (36-4) vs. No. 8 Cedar Rapids Prairie (24-17): The Tigers are riding a 23-game winning streak that includes 10 victories over teams that qualified for state. Their surge during the second half of the season allowed them to tie defending Class 5A champ Ankeny Centennial for the CIML Conference crown. Valley boasts a potent offense that is led by Marin Heller, who is batting .455 with 12 home runs and a Class 5A-leading 61 RBIs. The Tigers will also rely heavily on pitcher Alexa Stevermer (19-1, 1.51 ERA), who tossed the team’s eighth shutout in the regional final. Prairie, meanwhile, was just 10-11 on June 18 before the Hawks turned their season around with a six-game winning streak. In the regional final against seventh-ranked Cedar Rapids Kennedy, Prairie overcame a 2-0 deficit when Riley Reding slugged a three-run homer in the seventh inning. But don’t expect the Hawks to pull off another surprise.
No. 4 Waukee Northwest (33-7) vs. No. 5 Ankeny (21-20): The CIML Conference rivals split a doubleheader on June 3. Ankeny posted a 2-1 victory in 10 innings before the Wolves rallied to win the nightcap, 10-6. Ankeny’s Avery Nelson has twice delivered a game-winning hit in the 10th inning against the Wolves over the last two seasons. (See Monday’s prep of the week feature for more on Nelson.) Abby Rusher tossed a four-hitter and had five strikeouts in the opener of the twinbill. She will likely get the start on Monday, but don’t be surprised if Aubrey Lensmeyer comes on in relief at some point. Northwest eighth grader Sophia Schlader is tied for the state lead with 18 home runs–and she had three of them in the doubleheader at Ankeny. Ankeny coach Dave Bingham has indicated that the Hawkettes won’t pitch around Schlader, who has been walked 26 times. If Ankeny can do that successfully, the Hawkettes will have a good chance to avenge last year’s 6-4 loss to Northwest in a Class 5A consolation game.
No. 2 Pleasant Valley (37-3) vs. No. 7 Waukee (20-17): Two of the Spartans’ three losses came to Valley and Waukee Northwest, but they’ve also had plenty of success against the CIML schools–going a combined 6-2 against the conference. Pleasant Valley is the defending Class 5A runner-up. The Spartans reached the title game a year ago before falling to Centennial, 11-0, in five innings. Several starters are back from that team, led by senior shortstop Jessie Clemons, who is batting .449 with seven homers and 33 RBIs. She also starred on Pleasant Valley’s undefeated state championship basketball team in 2022-23. Clemons teams up with Ashley Hansen, who leads the state with 64 singles, to make a formidable duo at the top of the Spartans’ lineup. Waukee also has a potent leadoff threat in Ella McGee, who is tied for the state lead with eight triples. The Warriors are coming off a 3-0 upset over Centennial in the regional final and have won six straight games, but look for the winning streak to come to an end.
No. 3 Muscatine (27-10) vs. No. 6 Urbandale (22-18): This is another matchup between the Mississippi Athletic Conference and the CIML. The Muskies have won seven straight games and advanced to state with a 5-2 victory over Iowa City Liberty. Lucy Hoag is the team’s top hitter, boasting a .427 average with seven homers and 51 RBIs. Muscatine placed third in last year’s tournament. The Muskies upset Ankeny in the quarterfinals before falling to Pleasant Valley in the semifinals. Those two teams could meet again in a semifinal rematch on Wednesday. Urbandale avenged two earlier losses with a 5-1 win over Johnston in the regional final, earning its first trip to the state tournament since 2017. Tatum Johnson and Bri Tigges have combined to hit 17 home runs for the J-Hawks, who may need to outscore Muscatine because they have allowed an average of five runs per game. Urbandale’s Aubrey Schuman tossed a four-hitter against the Dragons though, so a repeat of that performance could lead to another upset.
