‘Big breakthrough:’ Sigourney hands Remsen St. Mary’s its first loss in state softball quarterfinals

FORT DODGE — Carly Goodwin was brilliant, of course.

Thirteen strikeouts. No walks. Perfect through 4 2/3 innings, a no-hitter through six.

But Goodwin needed some offensive assistance. And that’s where Erin Dawson stepped in.

Dawson’s two-run single in the sixth inning gave sixth-ranked Sigourney some much-needed insurance, and the Savages handed No. 3 Remsen St. Mary’s its first loss of the season, 3-1, in a Class 1A quarterfinal at the state softball tournament Tuesday night at the Rogers Sports Complex.

“This is a big breakthrough for us,” Dawson said, and indeed it was.

After first-round state losses in 2021 and 2023, Sigourney (24-7) earned its way to the right side of the 1A bracket. The Savages will face No. 7 Southeast Warren (24-2) in a semifinal at 7:30 Wednesday night.

The winner plays for the 1A championship in the tournament finale at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

“That’s one thing checked off our checklist, and we have two more to check,” Goodwin said.

With Goodwin in the circle, all things seem possible.

“This is the third time we’ve been here, and it sucks going down to the other fields (for consolation games),” Ava Fisch said. “We came here to handle business.”

Goodwin (22-2) and St. Mary’s counterpart Marina Cronin (15-1) were locked in a pitchers’ duel through five innings, with neither surrendering a hit.

In the top of the sixth, the Savages had a big breakthrough, to steal Dawson’s phrase.

Fisch’s one-out liner dropped in and spun to the right-field corner, and she motored around for a stand-up triple.

“I knew the team needed a hit,” Fisch said. “I was just looking at (Coach) Shelly (Streigle), watching her wave me around.”

With two outs, Goodwin broke the tie with a solid single to right-center.

“I just wanted to hit the ball hard. I didn’t try to do too much,” she said. “I just had to pick us up.”

At the time, 1-0 seemed like a safe margin. But the Savages didn’t stop there.

Josephine Moore reached on an error, then Dawson’s hit made it 3-0.

“Carly said, ‘You can do it,’” Dawson said. “I said, I WILL get you home.”

Good thing, too, because St. Mary’s (23-1) struck for a run in the seventh on its only two hits of the game.

Goodwin threw 72 pitches, 62 for strikes. She missed the strike zone only once in the final four innings.

“I knew I had to have my ‘A’ game for a team like (St. Mary’s),” the UNI recruit said. “(Moore) and I talked before the game, how we were going to approach each batter.

“We went after them. We weren’t going to be afraid. We weren’t going to shy away from their batters.”

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Photos: Sigourney vs. Remsen St. Mary’s in Class 1A state softball quarterfinals

Goodwin retired the first 14 Hawks, nine via strikeout, before Octavia Galles reached on an error with two outs in the fifth.

Mya Bunkers broke up the no-hitter with a leadoff single in the seventh, and scored on Carmindee Ricke’s two-out double.

Goodwin followed with her 13th strikeout of the game, the 1,307th of her career.

St. Mary’s will face No. 2 Wayne (24-5) in a consolation game at 2:30 Wednesday afternoon.

Sigourney 3, Remsen St. Mary’s 1

Class 1A State Quarterfinal, at Fort Dodge

Sigourney 000 003 0 — 3 4 1

Remsen St. Mary’s 000 000 1 — 1 2 3

Carly Goodwin and Josephine Moore. Marina Cronin and Mya Bunkers. W — Goodwin (22-2). L — Cronin (15-1).

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com