Dons fall in 1A semifinal, 1-0

FORT DODGE -- Kayla Tindall pitched a one-hitter, making a third-inning unearned run stand up as top-ranked Akron-Westfield edged No. 5 Don Bosco, 1-0, in a Class 1A semifinal at the state softball tournament Thursday at the Rogers Sports Complex.A junior, Tindall struck out five, walked one and yielded just three baserunners. Just one advanced beyond first base.Akron-Westfield (36-2) will face No. 10 New London (32-9) for the championship at 10 a.m. Friday. The Tigers outlasted No. 4 Newell-Fonda, 1-0, in eight innings.The Westerners tallied on a bizarre play in the third. With runners at first and second and one out, Kortney Hedlund grounded to second base. Brittany Hickson tagged the runner for an out, but first baseman Olivia Rigdon dropped the ball on a play that would have ended the inning.Sarah Schroeder motored home from second base and slid head-first, knocking the ball out of catcher Cate Paulsen's mitt for the go-ahead run.Baylee Rhoads had the lone hit for Don Bosco (33-9), in the sixth. The Dons had runners at first and second with one out in the sixth, but Tindall got Brittany Hickson to pop out.The Dons meet Newell-Fonda (36-7) in the third-place game at 9:30 Friday morning.