Champions!
The 2016 Iowa Class 4A State Softball Champions – The Oskaloosa Indians
The Oskaloosa Indians Softball Team claimed their first ever state title, on just their second trip to the state tournament, with a 6-5 victory.
Fort Dodge, Iowa – For Oskaloosa, there was no other option but to be in the championship game. Head Coach Jay Harms had told Oskaloosa News in earlier interviews that game was the goal, and the Indians had achieved their goal.
The #6 Indians were now facing the #1 Wildcats from Carlisle, a team that had sent them to the losers bracket at their last visit to the tournament.
The Indians and Wildcats maybe played the most back-and-forth battle of the entire championship day. The Indians claimed the championship with a walk-off, and the final score was 6-5.
***
“It’s just amazing, and I’m glad I got the opportunity as an eighth grader”, said Ava Vande Wall about the walk off to seal the win for the Indians.
“I am so happy about this”, said Vande Wall of the school’s first state title. “So memorable for me, and I just love it”.
***
Alexis Groet said that the heat was finally getting the better of her on Friday; she “pushed through”, which is different than her normal routine of pitching harder towards the end of a game.
Groet said that she was upset with herself over the illegal pitch that allowed Carlisle to score. “But I had to hold my stance on the mound”.
“It was nuts, I was so excited”, said Groet, when the winning run crossed the plate. “I was so happy for my teammates”.
Winning the first softball title for Oskaloosa was history in the making, and Groet is proud to be a part of Oskaloosa history. “It’s amazing, I was just part of a history making team”.
“Oh, she’s got to feel good. She’s got to feel like a winner,” says Groet of Vande Wall’s walk off hit to clinch the game for Oskaloosa.
Oskaloosa News asked Groet what it felt like to get a bit of revenge on Carlisle for the loss two years ago in the opening round of the state tournament. “It feels good”, said Groet, who praised her opponents. “I’m proud of their team and their pitcher”.
We posted the question to Groet of what’s next. The answer was pretty simple, “Another state title”.
***
As swarms of well-wishers flocked to Oskaloosa Head Coach Jay Harms, he was overheard saying, “They just wouldn’t give up”.
“What a gritty bunch”, said Harms, in a post game interview with Oskaloosa News.
“They just wouldn’t quit”, expressed Harms about his team. “They had that will not to lose all week, and they kept battling and finding ways”.
Harms said that the team didn’t play their best. “We made a lot of mistakes of course in the game”.
Harms said that Groet “Threw lights out”, and that the defense wasn’t the help they could have been. “We thought if we could keep it close defensively, we had a shot”.
“What was huge was Josey Bunnell, who hadn’t had a hit the whole tournament, gets that lead off single in the bottom of the 7th to get us going”.
Harms talked about Carlisle, and the match-up the Indians had against Carlisle last year at the team’s tournament. “We beat them in our classic, and I think that really helped us. Helped our kids’ mental state going into this ballgame, that they knew they could play with them”.
“Great for the community”, said Harms. “Yeah, it’s big”.
Harms, who retired from teaching at the end of the school year, says that he’s not retiring as head coach, “I’d like to keep coaching”.
“My hope is to be back coaching Oskaloosa Softball again next year”, said Harms in closing.
***
After returning home to Oskaloosa, Harms, in a speech to community members gathered at the Oskaloosa High School, thanked the community for their support, and the welcome back the team received.
“This is something these kids will never forget”, said Harms. “We not only won a state championship, but we had the best fans at Fort Dodge”.
“They never let the spotlight get to them”, said Harms about his team. “From Will to Win, they’re going to find a way to get it done. They never gave up”.
Carlisle vs Oskaloosa
Jul 22, 2016 at Rogers Park, FtD (Buena Vista Field)
Carlisle 5 (38-7)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
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Beier, Agatha c.......... 3 1 0 0 1 3 6 0 0
Joiner, Cortney 2b....... 4 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1
Lose, Mackenzie ss....... 3 1 0 0 1 2 0 2 1
Schnathorst, Gabby p..... 3 0 2 0 1 1 1 1 0
Schnathorst, Delaney pr/ 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Preston, Kennedy pr..... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Brown, Alyssa 1b......... 3 0 1 2 1 1 8 0 0
Mercer, Paige pr........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Dubois, Taylor 3b........ 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 3 3
Dubois, Alyvia cf........ 3 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 2
Twist, Emily lf.......... 2 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0
McCormick, Natalie dp.... 2 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0
Hockett, Katelyn rf...... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals................... 26 5 5 3 5 13 20 7 7
Oskaloosa 6 (30-7)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Silliman, Kylee ss....... 4 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 0
Jones, Anna rf........... 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Miller, Aubrey 2b........ 4 1 2 2 0 1 1 2 0
Westercamp, Alexis c..... 2 0 1 0 2 0 15 1 0
Wills, Taylor pr........ 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Vroegh, Alexis cf........ 4 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 2
Vande Wall, Ava 1b....... 3 1 1 1 0 0 2 1 0
Kindley, Ashley dp....... 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0
Welch, Devan 3b.......... 3 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 2
Bunnell, Josie lf........ 3 2 2 0 0 0 2 0 1
Groet, Alexis p.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals................... 28 6 11 6 3 5 21 4 7
Score by Innings R H E
-----------------------------------------
Carlisle............ 000 300 2 - 5 5 1
Oskaloosa........... 020 010 3 - 6 11 6
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Note: 2 outs, 2 runners LOB when the game ended.
E - Lose, Macken; Silliman, Ky 2; Westercamp, 3; Groet, Alexi. DP - Carlisle
1. LOB - Carlisle 7; Oskaloosa 7. 2B - Schnathorst,; Brown, Alyss; Miller,
Aubr; Westercamp,. SH - Dubois, Tayl 2. SF - Vande Wall,; Kindley, Ash. SB -
Dubois, Tayl; McCormick, N. CS - McCormick, N.
Carlisle IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Schnathorst, Gabby.. 6.2 11 6 6 3 5 28 33
Oskaloosa IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Groet, Alexis....... 7.0 5 5 2 5 13 26 33
Win - Groet, Alexi (19-2). Loss - Schnathorst, (32-6). Save - None.
BK - Groet, Alexi. PB - Westercamp,.
Umpires - HP: Mike Crozier 1B: Delbert Christensen 3B: Myron Jack
Start: 12:58 Time: 2:04 Attendance:
Game: 4A13
Play-by-Play
The Automated ScoreBook
Carlisle vs Oskaloosa - Play-by-Play
Jul 22, 2016 at Rogers Park, FtD (Buena Vista Field)
Score by Innings R H E
-----------------------------------------
Carlisle............ 000 300 2 - 5 5 1
Oskaloosa........... 020 010 3 - 6 11 6
-----------------------------------------
Carlisle starters: 40/c Beier, Agath; 10/2b Joiner, Cort; 2/ss Lose, Macken;
75/p Schnathorst,; 93/1b Brown, Alyss; 5/3b Dubois, Tayl; 7/cf Dubois, Alyv;
46/lf Twist, Emily; 77/dp McCormick, N; 30/rf Hockett, Kat;
Oskaloosa starters: 9/ss Silliman, Ky; 1/rf Jones, Anna; 7/2b Miller, Aubr;
21/c Westercamp,; 24/cf Vroegh, Alex; 20/1b Vande Wall,; 2/dp Kindley, Ash;
22/3b Welch, Devan; 8/lf Bunnell, Jos; 10/p Groet, Alexi;
Carlisle 1st - Beier, Agath struck out looking. Joiner, Cort struck out
swinging. Lose, Macken struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
Oskaloosa 1st - Silliman, Ky grounded out to 3b. Jones, Anna grounded
out to ss. Miller, Aubr grounded out to 3b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
Carlisle 2nd - Schnathorst, doubled to left center. SchnathorstD pinch
ran for Schnathorst,. Brown, Alyss struck out looking. Dubois, Tayl out at
first 1b to 2b, SAC; SchnathorstD advanced to third. Dubois, Alyv struck out
swinging. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Oskaloosa 2nd - Schnathorst, to p for SchnathorstD. Westercamp, doubled
to left center. Wills, Taylo pinch ran for Westercamp,. Vroegh, Alex popped up
to 1b. Vande Wall, singled to center field, advanced to second on the throw;
Wills, Taylo advanced to third. Kindley, Ash flied out to lf, SAC, RBI; Wills,
Taylo scored. Welch, Devan singled to right field, RBI; Vande Wall, scored.
Bunnell, Jos grounded out to p. 2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Carlisle 3rd - Westercamp, to c for Wills, Taylo. Twist, Emily struck
out swinging. McCormick, N singled up the middle. McCormick, N stole second,
advanced to third on an error by c. Beier, Agath struck out swinging. Joiner,
Cort flied out to lf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Oskaloosa 3rd - Silliman, Ky grounded out to ss. Jones, Anna grounded
out to 3b. Miller, Aubr struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
Carlisle 4th - Lose, Macken reached on an error by ss. Schnathorst,
singled down the lf line, advanced to second on the throw; Lose, Macken
advanced to third. SchnathorstD pinch ran for Schnathorst,. Brown, Alyss
grounded out to 2b, RBI; SchnathorstD advanced to third; Lose, Macken scored,
unearned. Dubois, Tayl reached on an error by p, SAC, RBI; SchnathorstD scored,
unearned. Dubois, Tayl stole second, advanced to third on an error by c,
scored, unearned. Dubois, Alyv struck out. Twist, Emily struck out looking.
3 runs, 1 hit, 3 errors, 0 LOB.
Oskaloosa 4th - Schnathorst, to p for SchnathorstD. Westercamp, lined
out to cf. Vroegh, Alex singled to left field. Vande Wall, fouled out to c.
Kindley, Ash walked; Vroegh, Alex advanced to second. Welch, Devan struck out
looking. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Carlisle 5th - McCormick, N struck out swinging. Beier, Agath struck out
looking. Joiner, Cort reached on an error by ss. Joiner, Cort advanced to
second on a passed ball. Lose, Macken struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 1
error, 1 LOB.
Oskaloosa 5th - Bunnell, Jos singled to shortstop, advanced to second on
an error by ss. Silliman, Ky singled, bunt; Bunnell, Jos advanced to third.
Jones, Anna popped up to p. Miller, Aubr singled to center field, RBI;
Silliman, Ky advanced to second; Bunnell, Jos scored. Westercamp, walked;
Miller, Aubr advanced to second; Silliman, Ky advanced to third. Wills, Taylo
pinch ran for Westercamp,. Vroegh, Alex lined into double play 2b to 1b; Wills,
Taylo out on the play. 1 run, 3 hits, 1 error, 2 LOB.
Carlisle 6th - Westercamp, to c for Wills, Taylo. Schnathorst, struck
out swinging. Brown, Alyss doubled down the lf line. Mercer, Paig pinch ran for
Brown, Alyss. Dubois, Tayl grounded out to 2b; Mercer, Paig advanced to third.
Dubois, Alyv fouled out to c. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Oskaloosa 6th - Brown, Alyss to 1b for Mercer, Paig. Vande Wall, flied
out to cf. Kindley, Ash struck out swinging. Welch, Devan struck out swinging.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Carlisle 7th - SchnathorstD pinch hit for Twist, Emily. SchnathorstD
fouled out to c. McCormick, N walked. McCormick, N out at second c to ss,
caught stealing. Beier, Agath walked. Joiner, Cort singled to shortstop; Beier,
Agath advanced to second. Joiner, Cort advanced to second; Beier, Agath
advanced to third on an error by c. Lose, Macken walked. Lose, Macken advanced
to second; Joiner, Cort advanced to third; Beier, Agath scored on an illegal
pitch. Schnathorst, intentionally walked. Preston, Ken pinch ran for
Schnathorst,. Brown, Alyss walked, RBI; Preston, Ken advanced to second; Lose,
Macken advanced to third; Joiner, Cort scored. Dubois, Tayl flied out to lf.
2 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 3 LOB.
Oskaloosa 7th - Schnathorst, to p for Preston, Ken. Twist, Emily to lf
for SchnathorstD. Bunnell, Jos singled through the right side. Silliman, Ky
singled up the middle; Bunnell, Jos advanced to second. Jones, Anna struck out
swinging. Miller, Aubr doubled to left center, RBI; Silliman, Ky advanced to
third; Bunnell, Jos scored. Westercamp, intentionally walked. Vroegh, Alex
singled to center field, RBI; Westercamp, advanced to second; Miller, Aubr
advanced to third; Silliman, Ky scored. Vande Wall, flied out to lf, SAC, RBI;
Vroegh, Alex advanced to second; Westercamp, advanced to third; Miller, Aubr
scored. 3 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
