116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Williamsburg run-rules Albia, and a third straight championship is in sight
Locked in a 1-1 deadlock through 3 1/2 innings, the Raiders explode late to set up a 1-vs.-2 showdown Friday with Dubuque Wahlert
Jul. 23, 2025 7:36 pm, Updated: Jul. 23, 2025 8:36 pm
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FORT DODGE — For lack of a better term, the Williamsburg Raiders simply out-fundamental you.
They make plays. They make you make plays.
They make more plays than you.
Second-ranked Williamsburg broke the dam late — two runs in the fourth inning, three in the fifth, three in the sixth — and stung No. 5 Albia, 9-1, in a six-inning Class 3A semifinal at the state softball tournament Wednesday evening at the Rogers Sports Complex.
“This group of seniors, they’re my biggest cheerleaders,” pitcher Jersey Metz said. “When I get down, they get me up. To send them out with another state championship would be really cool.”
The Raiders (35-7) will get that chance Friday; they face No. 1 Dubuque Wahlert (37-7) for the 3A crown at 2:30 p.m.
Williamsburg has won the last two 3A titles. Win another, and you can consider labeling this as a dynasty.
The Raiders were 3A runners-up in 2020, finished third in 2021 and 2022, then won it all in 2023 and 2024.
“We’re all really grateful,” Taylor Pitlick said after a three-hit performance. “To have an opportunity for a third championship in a row ... it’s such an amazing feeling.”
This was a 1-1 nail-biter when Albia’s Addie Pearson homered on the first pitch in the top of the fourth inning.
Metz didn’t allow another hit, retiring nine of the final 10 batters she faced.
“(The homer was) definitely a wakeup call,” she said. “We have the best defense in the state. They can field anything.”
With the game tied, Williamsburg went back to work.
They hit. They ran. They bunted. And they forced Albia (29-4) into mistakes.
Three of Williamsburg’s eight late runs were unearned. That, and nine hits in the final three innings, turned a competitive game into the Raiders’ 12th consecutive victory.
Pitlick finished with three hits. Makenna Hughes and Alley Gorsh added two apiece.
Hughes scored a pair of runs. She showed up to the interview tent in an utterly filthy uniform that had been white when she arrived at the complex.
She wore it with pride.
“The parents all say, ‘You know we’re having a good game if Makenna’s all dirty,” Hughes said. “My parents will wash it, and I’ll be the whitest on the team ... then I’m not.”
Hughes may have been a mess, but the Raiders played, in the words of Coach Adam Berte, “a clean game.”
Williamsburg finished with no errors. Albia had four.
The Lady Dees will face No. 6 Monroe PCM (26-5) in the third-place game at 1 p.m. Friday.
Williamsburg 9, Albia 1
Class 3A State Semifinal, at Fort Dodge
Albia 000 100 — 1 3 4
Williamsburg 010 233 — 9 11 0
Grace Pence and Madeline Van Loon. Jersey Metz and Lilly Ness. W — Metz (20-5). L — Pence (23-3). HR — Albia: Addie Pearson (6).
Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com
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