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Center Point-Urbana goes the distance against No. 1 Dubuque Wahlert
Pitcher Julia Roth makes a single fifth-inning tally stand up, and the Golden Eagles prevail 1-0 in a Class 3A quarterfinal
Jul. 21, 2025 9:46 pm, Updated: Jul. 22, 2025 8:49 am
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FORT DODGE — They won’t be going home empty-handed.
After the postgame handshake line, most of the softball players from Center Point-Urbana began scooping up dirt near their first-base dugout.
“It was first time, last time, once-in-a-lifetime,” pitcher Mya Hillers said. “The parents gave us jars at our sendoff for this.”
What could have topped this? Only a couple of runs.
Julia Roth yielded only two hits, and top-ranked Dubuque Wahlert edged No. 13 CPU, 1-0, in a 71-minute Class 3A quarterfinal at the state softball tournament Monday evening at the Rogers Sports Complex.
“Obviously, we wanted to win, but we wanted to give them a run for their money,” CPU Coach Kendra Wolff said. “We wanted to prove that we belong here.”
That, the Stormin’ Pointers accomplished. No debate about it.
“They were better than we expected, definitely,” Roth said after the Golden Eagles (35-7) advanced to Wednesday’s semifinal opposite No. 6 Monroe PCM (26-4), a 5-4 winner over No. 7 West Liberty.
Game time is 2:30 p.m.
“(Hillers) pitched really well, she mixed it up well. We just had to stay relaxed,” Roth said.
Wahlert got its lone tally in the bottom of the fifth inning. Natalie Ruba singled with one out, moved to second on Claire Brosius’ sacrifice bunt and scored on Ruth Tauber’s double.
Roth (15-5) struck out 10, walked two. CPU (25-13) didn’t advance a runner past second base all night.
That was Ella Simon, who singled to lead off the top of the fourth, and was bunted to second by Gracie Hoskins.
“We knew they were going to be a really good team,” Simon said.
Wahlert defeated CPU 12-5 on May 30. But the Stormin’ Pointers were far, far more competitive seven weeks later.
“Compare us to the beginning of the year, and we were more comfortable out there tonight,” Simon said.
“We got to come here, and we get one more game (against No. 7 West Liberty, at 2:30 Tuesday afternoon). We got a great (regional-final) win over Mount Vernon, and we came here with a chip on our shoulders.”
Dubuque Wahlert 1, Center Point-Urbana 0
Class 3A State Quarterfinal, at Fort Dodge
Center Point-Urbana 000 000 0 — 0 2 1
Dubuque Wahlert 000 010 x — 1 5 0
Mya Hillers and Gracie Hoskins. Julia Roth and Lily Oberhoffer. W — Roth (15-5). L — Hillers (12-8).
Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com
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