North Linn outlasts Sigourney in an 8-inning 1A state softball quarterfinal dandy

FORT DODGE — Skylar Benesh and Carly Goodwin will be teammates at the University of Northern Iowa.

Roommates, too.

They’ll have some good conversations in Cedar Falls, reliving this classic.

“Remember those two defensive gems Skylar made?”

“Remember those 12 strikeouts by Carly?

“Remember those seven scoreless innings? That tension? Wasn’t that fun?”

So much fun.

Second-ranked North Linn edged No. 8 Sigourney, 1-0, in Tuesday’s Class 1A state-softball quarterfinal at the Rogers Sports Complex.

The Lynx (37-6) won it on an unearned run in the bottom of the eighth, when Kenzie Bridgewater delivered the winning infield single with two outs.

“I had been struggling with the inside pitch,” Bridgewater said. “I knew if I had any kind of contact, it would go somewhere.

“It was a big chance to come through for my team.”

North Linn will face No. 7 Clarksville (29-1) in a 1A semifinal at 7:30 Wednesday night. The Indians tripped No. 3 Southeast Warren, 7-1, Tuesday.

There won’t be much time to relish this one, and this one was worth relishing.

The only tarnish is the fact that an error — the only error of the game — played a major role in the winning rally.

Hayley Henderson reached on that two-base throwing error, then moved to third on pinch-hitter Samantha West’s sacrifice bunt.

An out and an intentional walk to Benesh later, Bridgewater won it.

Afterward, Benesh sought out Goodwin.

“We had a good hug,” Benesh said. “She’s an outstanding pitcher, I’m excited to play with her (at UNI, where they will enroll in 2024).”

Goodwin said, “Skylar made some great plays (at shortstop). I know she’ll have my back in a couple of years, and that makes me feel good.”

Benesh made a diving stop, up the middle, and threw out Erin Dawson in the sixth, then showed range to snag Goodwin’s liner in the eighth.

Goodwin (22-3) absorbed a tough-luck loss, lowering her ERA to 0.20. She fanned a dozen, allowed three hits, and the intentional pass to Benesh was her sixth of the season against 316 strikeouts.

“(North Linn) has the best offensive team in 1A,” Goodwin said. “I think I did a good job keeping their top four off-balance.”

Ellie Flanagan (24-3) earned the circle win for the Lynx. An eight-inning shutout with a balky knee? Not bad, huh?

Flanagan, a senior, “popped my meniscus” in the Lynx’s regional-semifinal win and did not play in the regional final.

“I could hardly walk for a few days,” she said. “It wasn’t until a couple of days ago that I thought I could play tonight. I’ll be icing this later tonight, for sure.”

Lynx Coach Chad Spore said, “She went full at practice Sunday, and looked pretty darn good Monday at practice. Then, tonight, the adrenaline kicked in.”

Still, Kylie Munson was listed as the pitcher on the North Linn scorecard.

“Yeah, that was gamesmanship,” Spore said. “(The Savages) were at Decker’s (Sporting Goods in Fort Dodge) when we were, and Ellie was limping around pretty good.”

Flanagan yielded four hits, struck out seven and walked two.

Sigourney (26-5) had a big scoring chance in the top of the seventh. Courtney Hemsley stood at third base (after a walk, sacrifice bunt and wild pitch) with one out, but Flanagan struck out the next two.

The Savages will face Southeast Warren (25-7) in a 1A consolation at 3 p.m. Wednesday.

North Linn 1, Sigourney 0 (8)

Class 1A State Quarterfinal, at Fort Dodge

Sigourney 000 000 00 — 0 4 1

North Linn 000 000 01 — 1 4 0

Carly Goodwin and Josephine Moore. Kylie Munson, Ellie Flanagan (1) and Jersey Peyton. W — Flanagan (24-3). L — Goodwin (22-3).

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com