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Williamsburg’s rewards: A tour de triumph around town, another state softball tournament
No. 3 Raiders blank Atlantic, 7-0, in a Class 3A regional final
Jul. 12, 2022 9:58 pm, Updated: Jul. 14, 2022 10:03 am
Williamsburg High School celebrates at the mound after defeating Atlantic High School 7-0 at Williamsburg High School to advance to the state finals Tuesday, July 12, 2022. (Amir Prellberg/Freelance)
Williamsburg junior, Rylee Vercande, gets met by teammates at home plate after her homerun during the 1st inning against Atlantic High School at Williamsburg High School Tuesday, July 12, 2022. (Amir Prellberg/Freelance)
Williamsburg junior, Jenna Thurm, throws a ball to first during the 6th inning against Atlantic High School at Williamsburg High School Tuesday, July 12, 2022. (Amir Prellberg/Freelance)
Williamsburg sophomore, Shannon Finn, catches a fly ball during the 1st inning against Atlantic High School at Williamsburg High School Tuesday, July 12, 2022. (Amir Prellberg/Freelance)
Williamsburg sophomore, Shannon Finn, slides into 2nd base safely against Atlantic High School at Williamsburg High School Tuesday, July 12, 2022. (Amir Prellberg/Freelance)
Williamsburg freshmen, Makenna Hughes, fields a bunt during the 6th inning against Atlantic High School Tuesday, July 12, 2022. (Amir Prellberg/Freelance)
Williamsburg junior, Rylee Vercande, rounds 3rd base after her home-run in the 1st inning against Atlantic High School at WIlliamsburg High School Tuesday, July 12, 2022. (Amir Prellberg/Freelance)
Williamsburg freshmen, Makenna Hughes, hugs junior, Peyton Driscoll (16), after defeating Atlantic High School 7-0 at Williamsburg High School to advance to the state finals Tuesday, July 12, 2022. (Amir Prellberg/Freelance)
Williamsburg High School students cheer from the left field fence after homerun during the 1st inning at Williamsburg High School Tuesday, July 12, 2022. (Amir Prellberg/Freelance)
Williamsburg advanced to the state softball tournament for the third straight year with a 7-0 win over Atlantic in a Class 3A regional final Tuesday. (Jeff Linder/The Gazette)
WILLIAMSBURG — The fire truck led. Three pickups followed.
The passengers consisted of some jubilant, triumphant girls clad in sweat-soaked black softball uniforms.
Rylee Vercande lit the fuse with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the first inning, pitcher Peyton Driscoll spun a 13-strikeout, two-hit shutout and third-ranked Williamsburg hit the ball hard all game in a 7-0 Class 3A regional-final rout of Atlantic on Tuesday at Jim Turner Field.
“We’re on Cloud Nine right now,” said Elle Ridgeway, who had two hits and drove in two runs. “Every team is going to have to be on their top of their game to beat us (at the state tournament).”
Williamsburg (32-10) advances to state for the third consecutive year. They’ll face No. 14 Sioux Center (22-9) in a quarterfinal at 11:30 Tuesday morning at the Rogers Sports Complex, Fort Dodge.
The Raiders were 3A runners-up in 2020, then placed third last year. And at the level they are playing right now, Ridgeway’s confidence is well warranted.
“If we play well, we can beat anybody,” Williamsburg Coach Adam Berte said. “It comes down to us. If we play our best, we’re capable of anything.”
Williamsburg has been as good as anybody, in any class, since the calendar flipped to July. The Raiders had a monster weekend in Iowa City, July 1-2, and have outscored their three postseason opponents by a 27-0 count.
“We have all the puzzle pieces right now,” Driscoll said before hopping into the bed of one of the pickups that toured through downtown. “We’re ready for whatever comes our way.”
Driscoll has been through the stresses of the postseason for four years now. She was dynamite Tuesday, keeping the Trojans (23-15) at bay.
Meanwhile, the bats were swinging both fast and heavy.
Vercande sent the second pitch by Atlantic eighth-grade pitcher Zoey Kirchhoff over the center-field wall, and the Raiders were off and rolling.
Shannon Finn followed with a single, stole second and third and scored on Ridgeway’s ground out.
Another run-scoring ground ball by Baylie Von Ahsen made it 3-0 in the second, then the Raiders broke it open with three tallies in the third. Ridgeway and Rylie Metz had RBI knocks and Driscoll chased home another with a ground-ball out.
Back-to-back doubles by Ridgeway and Jenna Thurm in the fourth inning accounted for the final run.
“We all picked a pitch that we could hit,” Ridgeway said. “We came out relaxed and ready to go.
“Rylee’s home run set the pace: OK, we can hit her.”
Williamsburg 7, Atlantic 0
Class 3A Regional Final, at Williamsburg
Atlantic 000 000 0 — 0 2 1
Williamsburg 213 100 x — 7 8 0
Zoey Kirchhoff, Rylee Wood (5) and Lila Wiederstein. Peyton Driscoll and Jenna Thurm. W — Driscoll (17-4). L — Kirchhoff (11-10). HR — WILL: Rylee Vercande (12).
Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com
