‘A hot conference’: For the 7th time in 10 years, a Wamac team is playing for the 3A state softball title

FORT DODGE — Wamac Conference softball is a grind.

Shannon Finn called it something else.

“It’s a blessing,” she said. “We couldn’t be more blessed than to be a part of this league. It makes you reach your full potential.”

When second-ranked Williamsburg faces No. 5 Davenport Assumption in the Class 3A state championship game Friday at the Rogers Sports Complex (first pitch is 2:30 p.m.), it marks the seventh time in the last 10 years — and the fifth year in a row — that a Wamac team has made it all the way to the 3A final.

Four different Wamac squads have won state titles in that span:

Solon beat Benton Community for the 3A title in 2015, then Benton took the next step and won it all the following year.

Mount Vernon was the 2022 champion, then it was Williamsburg in 2023.

A qualifier each of the last five years, Williamsburg (32-12) earned the right for a chance to repeat with a 3-2 win over Dubuque Wahlert in Wednesday’s semifinal.

Benton (32-8) dropped a 10-7 verdict to Assumption, and will be playing for third place at 1 p.m. Friday. And despite an 15-24 record coming into the postseason, Solon was an additional qualifier.

“It’s a hot conference,” said Finn, a Williamsburg senior who will play next season at Kirkwood Community College. “Conference games are some of the most competitive games we play. And they prepare us for when we get here.”

The Wamac has produced 27 qualifying teams in the last 10 years, led by Mount Vernon’s seven trips. Williamsburg and Benton each have been here five times since 2015.

For Sigourney Coach Shelly Streigle, ‘this one’s for Pop’

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As her Sigourney team celebrated its Class 1A semifinal win over Southeast Warren on Wednesday, Coach Shelly Streigle’s thoughts drifted.

“I was thinking about my dad,” she said.

Streigle’s father, Dick Coffman, had been an assistant for her, and was on the staff when Sigourney finished fourth in 2017.

He died in 2020, just before the Savages’ recent run of success.

“I knew he was close by,” Streigle said. “I knew he was in my ear.

“This one’s for Pop.”

The sixth-ranked Savages (25-7) are in the championship game for the first time and face No. 1 Martensdale-St. Marys (30-6) for the crown at 7:30 Friday night.

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“It’s awesome,” pitcher Carly Goodwin said. “We’ve never been in this situation. We’re going to be pumped. We’re facing a good team, a really good team.”

2024 IGHSAU Softball Hall of Fame class

Former Benton pitcher Amber Fiser (Class of 2016) is one of four players who will be inducted into the IGHSAU Softball Hall of Fame on Thursday night.

Fiser posted a 91-8 career record with 1,163 strikeouts in her prep career before enjoying a standout career at the University of Minnesota, where she was 98-35 and enjoyed All-America honors.

She will be joined in this year’s Hall class by Kendyl Lindaman (Ankeny Centennial), Haylee Towers (Johnston) and Brittney Roby (Twin Cedars).

Ellie Flanagan, who pitched North Linn to the 1A title last year, will be honored with the Jack North Softball Award, and BGM Coach Jill Hulsing will receive the Golden Plaque of Distinction.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com