Goode pitcher, Goode hitter

FORT DODGE - The West Delaware Hawks took some grief Monday afternoon at the state softball tournament.

Goode grief.

Taylor Goode pitched a five-hit shutout and ignited 11th-ranked Norwalk with a three-run home run as the Warriors whipped No. 10 West Delaware, 8-0, in a Class 4A quarterfinal at the Rogers Sports Complex.

'Things happen like that sometimes,” said Hawks Coach Kevin Schuchmann. 'We had heard that (Norwalk) was a team that liked the big inning.”

The Warriors (28-12) constructed two big innings and advanced to get a shot at the defending champions - they'll face No. 1 Dallas Center-Grimes in a semifinal at 3 p.m. Thursday. DCG (39-1) whipped LeMars, 12-2, in six innings Monday.

Infield hits by Lauren Bagby and Sidney Zepnak (the latter, a slap that hugged the third-base line) set the table in the top of the third inning. But after retiring the next two batters, Hawks pitcher Hannah Cole was a strike away from reaching temporary safe harbor.

Instead, Goode dropped an anchor on the Hawks' stern, blasting an 0-2 pitch over the center-field wall.

'I was just trying to swing,” Goode said. 'Once we got that, it pumped up the team even more.”

Norwalk followed with five runs in the top of the fourth, including a two-run double by pinch-hitter Gabby Ridgeway.

That was more than enough for Goode in the circle. The Hawks didn't advance a runner past first base until the sixth inning.

'She had a nice outside curve; she mixed it up a little bit,” Schuchmann said. 'We battled.”

West Delaware (30-8) faces LeMars (21-17) in a consolation semifinal at 10 a.m. Wednesday, then plays in the fifth- or seventh-place game at 2 p.m.

NORWALK 8, WEST DELAWARE 0 (Class 4A Quarterfinal)

Norwalk 003 500 0 - 8 10 1

West Delaware 000 000 0 - 0 5 0

Taylor Goode and Emily Delker. Hannah Cole and Ashley Heims. W - Goode (17-9). L - Cole (27-7). HR - Nor: Goode (4).

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@sourcemedia.net