The bats were on display Tuesday night as the Riverside Bulldogs punched their ticket to the State Semi-final with a resounding 14-6 win in five innings over the Newell-Fonda Mustangs. After allowing the first run, Riverside responded with a five-run first inning. Throughout the next few frames, it was punch and counter-punch as the Mustangs always found a way to keep the game in reach. However, after scoring two more in the fourth, Peyton Schafer delivered her best inning in the fifth to put the bulldogs in control for good. When the opportunity came to close it out, they scored four more in the fifth to end the game and advance to the 1A semi-final. 

Playing in their first state tournament since 2009, it would be wild to suggest that nerves wouldn’t be a factor for the Bulldogs. Although seemingly calm and collected, they were there at the start, as it wasn’t an ideal start defensively. After allowing a leadoff base hit to Kinzee Hinders, a throwing error allowed her to score from first to give Newell-Fonda the early lead. However, Schafer settled in, retiring the next three batters to limit the damage to one. 

By the time Riverside reached the plate in the bottom of the first, all nerves were erased. The Bulldogs batted around the order, scoring five runs. Adeline Martens kicked things off with her first of three hits in the ballgame, which was quickly followed up by a Sophia Fenner RBI double. Schafer added an RBI before a trio of Mustang errors helped bring in three more before the inning finally came to an end. 

Over the next three innings, the teams would trade blows at the plate while neither pitcher seemed to be able to hit their stride. Each team scored one in the second. Newell-Fonda capitalized on back-to-back walks, while Riverside capitalized on a walk of their own with Schafer driving in her second run of the day, scoring Fenner. Every time Newell-Fonda seemed to grab momentum, Riverside grabbed it right back. The team would trade a pair of runs in each of the next two innings as Riverside maintained its four-run lead. 

Although not a perfect game for Schafer, she battled and consistently limited the damage. Then with an opportunity to take control of the game, she didn’t miss. Despite issuing a one-out walk, Fenner caught Camryn Puhrmann stealing (with the help of an excellent tag from Kayden Schnack), and Schafer went on to retire the batter, facing the minimum, leaving the door open for the offense to close out the game. 

In the fifth, Riverside’s patience shone through. After Martens led off with a double, the Bulldogs went on to earn four walks in the inning. After scoring two more on wild pitches, Elly Henderson picked up an RBI single to put the winning run at third. Following the fourth walk, Lilli Reed narrowly missed a grand slam to straight away center. Although Anna Mercer made the catch, it was more than enough to bring home Sydney Sommers to end the game and move Riverside to the state semi-final. 

The Bulldogs will face their toughest challenge yet in the semi-final as they will take on the top-seeded Wayne Falcons. Holding a 26-2 record, the Falcons have made a state tournament appearance in six of the last seven years and have made it to the semi-final in three out of the last five seasons. First pitch is scheduled for 7 pm Wednesday, and you can catch all the action on KJAN with coverage beginning at 6 pm.