Ankeny Centennial’s Makenna Foster kneeled down on the infield to collect a souvenir from the Iowa Central Field at Harlan Rogers Park.
The senior catcher scooped up some dirt and poured it into a container for safe keeping.
“We’ve got these jars that say ‘Dirty Dodge Beach’, because we’re like beach themed,” Foster said of her squad.
It was a memorable Thursday night for Foster and her Centennial softball teammates, who left Fort Dodge with the Class 5A third-place trophy after the fourth-ranked Jaguars rolled to a 10-2 victory over No. 7 Cedar Falls in six innings in the consolation final.
Foster went 2-for-3 and drove in four runs in her final game.
“We came into the season and our goal was to make it to state,” Foster said. “We were just out here having fun and playing together. We wanted this pretty bad just to get a third-place trophy, but we knew they were going to be a good team.”
Cedar Falls (31-11) was making its first appearance in the tournament. The Tigers swept a doubleheader at Centennial on June 13, but fell behind right away in Thursday’s game and could not recover.
Kori Lincicum went 4-for-4 and had two RBIs for the Jaguars, who finished the season with a 34-10 record. Lincicum ended the game with a walk-off blast to center field that nearly cleared the fence.
“That was a great way to finish the game,” said Lincicum. “It’s really hard to get here, and I’m just happy that we did.”
Centennial’s Jordyn Kennedy and Mady Ott were both named to the all-tournament team. Kennedy drew a leadoff walk in the sixth inning, advanced to third on a double by Ott, and then trotted home for the game-ending run on Lincicum’s fourth hit.
“We were definitely like, ‘Let’s just end it right here and right now,'” Ott said. “We obviously wanted to end on a good note. The fact that they had swept us earlier, we definitely wanted to beat them this time.”
Centennial earned a top-three finish for the fourth time in six years under coach Brett Delaney. The Jaguars placed third in 2020, took second in 2021 and claimed the title in 2023.
“This is a special group, and they’ve been special all year,” said Delaney. “(Wednesday) wasn’t our day, and they came back today positive and excited and it was just a fun way to end the season.”
Centennial pitchers Peyten Spiegel and Aubrey Scieszinski combined on a seven-hitter. Scieszinski (15-4) tossed three scoreless innings of relief to earn the win.
Spiegel, a freshman, was honored to get the start.
“I’m very thankful for all the opportunities I’ve been given all year,” said Spiegel. “Our seniors have been so good to me this whole year, and so I wanted to win it for them.”
The Jaguars took advantage of four Cedar Falls errors. One of them came in the first inning, which led to a pair of unearned runs and an early 3-0 deficit for the Tigers.
Lincicum hit an infield single to drive in Mary Brantley. Ava Faber scored on a grounder by Lauren Bartine, then Kennedy raced home on a wild pitch.
“One of our dads said, ‘It’s hard to beat a team three times,'” Lincicum said. “I think we came out and were ready to play. It was a team effort.”
Cedar Falls closed the gap to 3-2 on a two-out single by Kennedy Buskohl in the third inning, but Spiegel then fanned the last batter she faced–Amanda Finck–and the Jaguars never looked back.
With two outs in the bottom of the frame, five consecutive Centennial batters reached base against Cedar Falls reliever Lexi Trueg. Foster hit a two-run single to make it 5-2, then another run scored on an error.
“I love seeing them all get hits, especially Foster with this being her senior year,” Kennedy said.
In the fourth, Faber led off with a single and later scored when Ott reached on an error. After an infield hit by Lincicum, Foster delivered another two-run single after she was initially granted a walk before the umpires consulted and then sent her back to the plate.
“I’m extremely proud of this team,” Foster said. “As a senior, I just love all of these people. it’s going to be really difficult to move on, but I know they’ll support me in my journey in life.”
Two innings later, Lincicum provided the knockout blow for the Jaguars.
“I actually thought that last ball was going to get out for her–a total walk-off (homer),” Delaney said. “She just had a special day. I always say big-time players make big-time plays in big-time situations, and she found a way to do it today.”
