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FORT DODGE — Last season – when Clarksville won the Class 1A Iowa high school softball state championship – it did it for its community.
This year, the coaches and players wanted to win one for themselves, which is exactly what happened on Friday, July 24. Clarksville defeated Edgewood-Colesburg, 5-2, to take home its second-straight title.
"Our motto this year was 'For us,'" said head coach Katie Burman. "We said we won it last year for our community, our family, and this year we wanted to do it for ourselves and for us."
The Vikings jumped out to an early lead, scoring one run off Rachel Eglseder's bat in the first inning. It didn't take long for Clarksville to even the score, though. After holding Edgewood-Colesburg without a run in the top of the second, Gia Hoodjer hit a double that sent Emersyn Miller home to tie things up.
Edgewood-Colesburg's Faith Dugan hit a solo home run to lead off the third inning, but that lead didn't last long either. Hannah Wangsness sent a runner home for Clarksville to make it even at two apiece.
More: Iowa high school state softball tournament 2026: Scores, brackets
That's where the back and forth ended.
With two outs on the board and one runner on, Eve Jordan knocked the ball over the fence to give Clarksville its first lead of the game (4-2). Catelynn Lodge followed that with a double, and a base hit from Reagan Wedeking brought Lodge in to give her team a 5-2 lead in the bottom of the fourth.
And that's all it took to take home the title.
The title win marked the end of a wild state tournament journey for Clarksville. It defeated North Butler, 12-11, in a first-round game that spanned 15 innings. It followed that with a win over St. Edmond, but Clarksville played the Gaels two more times on July 22 – including an 11-inning matchup — to earn a spot in the title game.
From there, Clarksville handled business again to claim another state crown.
More: Des Moines Register seeks fall high school sports intern
"At the beginning of the year, I probably would not think that we'd be here right now," Burman said. "I knew we had the talent and the potential to be here, but I just didn't see the fire in them. And then this week, obviously, they found the fire playing the games that they did."
Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at [email protected] or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Clarksville tops Edgewood-Colesburg for second-straight Iowa softball title
Continue reading...
This year, the coaches and players wanted to win one for themselves, which is exactly what happened on Friday, July 24. Clarksville defeated Edgewood-Colesburg, 5-2, to take home its second-straight title.
"Our motto this year was 'For us,'" said head coach Katie Burman. "We said we won it last year for our community, our family, and this year we wanted to do it for ourselves and for us."
The Vikings jumped out to an early lead, scoring one run off Rachel Eglseder's bat in the first inning. It didn't take long for Clarksville to even the score, though. After holding Edgewood-Colesburg without a run in the top of the second, Gia Hoodjer hit a double that sent Emersyn Miller home to tie things up.
Edgewood-Colesburg's Faith Dugan hit a solo home run to lead off the third inning, but that lead didn't last long either. Hannah Wangsness sent a runner home for Clarksville to make it even at two apiece.
More: Iowa high school state softball tournament 2026: Scores, brackets
That's where the back and forth ended.
With two outs on the board and one runner on, Eve Jordan knocked the ball over the fence to give Clarksville its first lead of the game (4-2). Catelynn Lodge followed that with a double, and a base hit from Reagan Wedeking brought Lodge in to give her team a 5-2 lead in the bottom of the fourth.
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And that's all it took to take home the title.
The title win marked the end of a wild state tournament journey for Clarksville. It defeated North Butler, 12-11, in a first-round game that spanned 15 innings. It followed that with a win over St. Edmond, but Clarksville played the Gaels two more times on July 22 – including an 11-inning matchup — to earn a spot in the title game.
From there, Clarksville handled business again to claim another state crown.
More: Des Moines Register seeks fall high school sports intern
"At the beginning of the year, I probably would not think that we'd be here right now," Burman said. "I knew we had the talent and the potential to be here, but I just didn't see the fire in them. And then this week, obviously, they found the fire playing the games that they did."
Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at [email protected] or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Clarksville tops Edgewood-Colesburg for second-straight Iowa softball title
Continue reading...
