Once again, the Riverside Bulldogs dominated to earn their first trip to the state tournament since 2009, beating the Stanton Viqueens 11-1 in five innings Monday night. The bats were hot as seven different Bulldogs drove in runs while Adaline Martens went 2-for-2 with two extra-base hits. On the mound, Peyton Schafer was excellent. Despite giving up a solo home run in the first, she quickly recovered, allowing just three more singles the rest of the contest. Riverside exploded in the fourth, scoring six runs to punch their ticket to the state tournament.

Looking to pull off another road win, it was Stanton who struck first. After Schafer retired the first two batters, Kyla Hart sent one over the wall in left center to give the Viqueens a 1-0 lead. It wouldn’t take the Bulldogs long to respond. Adaline Martens led off with a triple, and in combination with an error and back-to-back base hits, Riverside scored each of their first three batters. Although they had the opportunity to take on, they settled with a 3-1 lead after an inning.

After the first, Schafer kept the Stanton bats quiet. Through her 4.o innings, she gave up just four hits, three of them singles, while striking out three. Although two of them reached scoring position, she and the bulldogs would strand one and throw out one on a wild 5-4-6 double play.

Although Riverside was held scoreless in the third, their patience at the plate shone through. The Bulldogs drew four walks in the inning, two of which came around to score. Despite leaving the bases loaded, they were in full control of the game.

Up 5-1 heading into the fourth, Riverside poured on the hits. Sophia Fenner led off the inning with a double and was quickly driven in by a Madison Kelly double as she drove in her second run of the game. Schafer made it three doubles in a row to extend the lead further while Sommers mixed in a single. Elly Henderson, Kayden Schnack, and Lili Reed would all drive in runs. In her second plate appearance of the inning, Fenner sent a hot shot to left that was too tough to handle, which sent the Bulldogs to the state tournament. Head coach Lacie Patterson credited her team’s offensive output to the work they did in the offseason.

After putting up a no-hitter on Friday, Schafer’s streak didn’t last long into the regional final. However, her ability to put things behind her has become a norm.

Patterson and the team are both excited for the upcoming trip.

As far as preparation goes, the mindset won’t change.

Riverside will head off to Fort Dodge on a string of dominant wins. The Bulldogs did not allow more than a single run in any of their three regional games. Offensively, all of their wins came by more than five runs, with two of them being ten-run margins.