North Scott’s Maddy McDermott too much for Cedar Rapids Xavier in Class 4A softball regional final

CEDAR RAPIDS — It was sound strategy. Good strategy.

When Maddy McDermott came to the plate in her first three at-bats Tuesday night in this Class 4A regional softball final, Cedar Rapids Xavier intentionally walked her. That included twice with two outs and no one on base.

There’s zero need to let a player the caliber of the North Scott senior beat you if you don’t have to. McDermott is a University of Northern Iowa signee who sported a batting average of .459 and had 14 home runs coming in.

So, yeah, put her on.

“I just tried to control everything, control my emotions,” McDermott said, after North Scott beat Xavier, 6-0, at Bob Erusha Field. “I just tried to stay in the game and keep timing. When I got on base, I went right to the dugout and timed the pitches, still had a bat in my hand just in case I did get a chance to hit.”

She finally did in the seventh inning, singling to center field as part of a four-run rally that officially put this game away and sent 11th-ranked North Scott (26-11) to the state tournament in Fort Dodge for the fourth time in five years. Yet, really, it was on the mound where McDermott made her biggest impact.

She threw a complete-game two-hit shutout to prevent seventh-ranked Xavier (28-13) from getting to state for the first time since 2018.

“I thought we worked so well as a team,” McDermott said. “I thought that me, my coaches and (catcher) Teagan (Kelley) were on the same (page) the whole game. I thought we really had a mindset that we were going to attack the ball, we’re going to attack everything throughout the whole game.”

Katie Pilcher and Braylen Conlon had Xavier’s two hits, both singles. Conlon also walked, but that was it for the Saints: just three baserunners in the game.

Conlon was on second base and Pilcher on first with one out in the bottom of the fourth inning of a scoreless game, with cleanup hitter Duanna Coyle at the plate. She sent a grounder toward the middle that appeared might be headed into center field, but instead spun right to North Scott shortstop Sydney Skarich, who completed the 6-3, inning-ending double play.

In the next-half inning, Xavier’s left fielder dropped a fly ball with two outs, which allowed ensuing hitter Adalynn Johnson of North Scott to come up and hit a two-run home run opposite field to right.

“I knew North Scott was going to be tough,” said Xavier Coach Nikki Gahring. “McDermott, she’s a very good pitcher and a very good hitter. We had a game plan going in, and it worked for about six innings. They’re a senior-dominated team, they’re a returning state tournament team. I mean, they have that experience. We’re very sophomore-freshman heavy. So part of that is just keeping composure. I’m proud of the work the kids have done.

“They battled, they kept working, they got out of tough situations, when things could have gotten away from us. They’ve been right there all season.”

Xavier had just 13 players on its varsity roster, and Coyle was the lone senior. So expect these Saints to be mighty good in 2023-24.

This one hurt, for sure, as the tears flowed from several disappointed players. But another year older for this young roster and motivation from this defeat could make Xavier really something next season.

“All that youth coming back is extremely exciting,” Gahring said. “They’re ready to take that next step. Another year of growing strength, another year of maturity, another year of composure mentally and physically. It’s definitely an exciting future, even though tonight ended the way it did.”

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