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FORT DODGE — Do you want to connect with Adam Berte?
Jersey Metz, please.
Berte’s voice cracked as he said, “I’m really proud of her.”
At the Rogers Sports Complex on Friday afternoon, Metz earned all-tournament captaincy, kept top-ranked Dubuque Wahlert off balance, and guided No. 2 Williamsburg to its third straight Class 3A state softball title, 3-2.
“I was just as happy last year,” Metz insisted. However, being able to do it this time has a slightly greater significance.
The backstory
Last year, Williamsburg defeated Davenport Assumption 12–9 in the championship game. However, in the fifth inning, Metz gave up four walks and was lifted, which put her in difficulty.
After we returned (to Williamsburg), one of the families threw a party, Berte said. Jersey was present and joyful, but her performance likely disappointed her.
Once more, his voice caught.
I caught her before she went and informed her that she would be getting another shot.
She did, and did it flawlessly.
According to Metz, I saw my pitching coach once a week. Three or four times a week, I worked out. If I asked my dad to get up early, he would. Usually, it was before school, around 5:30 a.m.
On Friday, Metz (20-5) gave up eight hits, but she got out when she needed one. Consequently, the Raiders (36-7) became the first team since Assumption (3A, 2017–19) to win three straight state softball titles, making them the eighth team to do it.
I’m so happy that I can’t even speak. Makenna Hughes, the third baseman, said.
Alley Gorsh and Taylor Pitlick joined Hughes and Metz on the all-tournament team.
The last out on a pop-up was obtained by first baseman Pitlick.
She claimed that when the ball came to me, it was a rush. I felt a little uneasy. This is something I’ve seen a lot.
A dogpile of ecstatic Raiders followed, a spectacle that has grown recognizable on the Rogers main diamond.
Although we don’t practice it, Pitlick stated that Berte helps us picture ourselves rejoicing and uniting as a team.
Williamsburg attacked early in the count and scored once in each of the first two innings. After stealing second base and rushing home on Carly Rich’s sacrifice bunt, Hughes started the game with a single.
After Spratt singled with one out in the second, Ava Hocker’s infield single gave him the lead.
In the bottom of the third, Wahlert (37-8) tied the score. After Natalie Ruba was chased home by Kylie Sieverding’s infield single, Sadie Schultz scored a bases-loaded walk to tie the score at two.
In the fifth inning, Hughes singled with one out to spark another Williamsburg rally. She scored the tie-breaker on Gorsh’s hit to left after stealing second.
The work was far from done at 3-2. Wahlert’s dangerous top batsman was certain to bat twice more.
In the fifth inning, Metz forced successive pop-outs despite the Golden Eagles having runners on second and third with one out.
Berte decided to give Julia Roth (22 home runs, 60 RBIs) a free pass with one out in the seventh.
Berte stated that it is not optimal to go through (Ruth) Tauber and Roth.
Pitlick caught with 21st out in foul territory with two on and two away.
And Metz was in the midst of the people wave that was moving toward the infield’s center.
Gorsh, who will play at Kirkwood Community College the next season, expressed his pride in her. She moved wildly.
According to Metz, it was going in and out in all directions. They have to stay alert.
In three games played here this week, Williamsburg committed only one mistake, while its opponents committed nine.
The Raiders’ performances ranged from the ordinary to the extraordinary.
In the sixth inning, Wahlert’s Natalie Ruba attempted a bunt, but Hughes made a diving grab to stop it.
Hughes remarked, “My first impulse was to go get the ball.”
Williamsburg softball, which has advanced to six straight state tournaments and played on the last day each time, is having its heyday.
The Raiders have won gold three times in a row, finishing third in 2021 and 2022 and second in 3A in 2020.
“It means a lot to send the seniors out with another championship,” remarked junior Metz. It’s all a bit overwhelming right now.
Williamsburg 3, Dubuque Wahlert 2
At Fort Dodge, the Class 3A State Final
In Williamsburg, 110 010 0 — 3 7 1.
Wahlert Dubuque 002 000 0 — 2 8 3
Lilly Ness and Jersey Metz. Lily Oberhoffer and Julia Roth. W — Metz (20-5). L — Roth (16–6).
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