Upsets fill opening round of Iowa high school state softball

Top-seed, No. 1 team in 4A goes down in quarterfinals

North Polk's Tessa Dillinger had the game-winning RBI in a Class 4A win at the Iowa high school state softball tournament Monday. / Lily Smith/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The first day of the Iowa high school state softball tournament featured a big upset right off the bat.

In a Class 4A quarterfinal contest, top-ranked and No. 1 seed Cedar Rapids Xavier was stunned by Pella, 5-1. The Dutch ended a scoreless tie through five with a big four-run sixth.

Emma Eekhoff did the damage both at the plate and inside the circle, finishing with a home run, a double and eight strikeouts. She allowed just three hits, taking a no-hitter into the seventh against one of the top power-hitting teams in the state.

Xavier tried to rally, plating a run in its final at-bat, but it was not enough against the Dutch.

Elah Hiemstra drove in two runs while Lucy Carlson and Abigail Melvin each had an RBI.

Braylen Conlon, who recently committed to Iowa, struck out 13 but allowed five earned runs. 

The Dutch will now take on ADM, who topped Dallas Center-Grimes in a marathon nine-inning affair, 4-1. Lauren Hagedorn homered in the sixth to tie it at 1-all before the Tigers plated three in the ninth.

Makenna Pitlick, Ellis Smith and Aniston Tollari each drove in a run, as Hagedorn retired the Mustangs to secure the win. She struck out eight while allowing only four hits. 

For Dallas Center-Grimes, Jenah Gray had a solo homer in the first. Tessa Jones struck out seven.

The otherside of the 4A bracket will see North Scott, who topped No. 2 seed Norwalk 7-1, take on North Polk, who won an 8-7 nine-inning affair over Western Dubuque.

For North Scott, Aubrey Toohey had three hits while Kamilah Eller and Adalynn Johnson each had two. Chevelle Kingsley struck out eight.

Nyah Hulbert hit a home run in the seventh for the lone Norwalk run, as Maddie Gullion had three hits. 

North Polk was led by Larissa Koth, as she drove in three with two hits. Tessa Dillinger had the game-winning RBI, driving in a pair, as Lucy Lucas and Amelia Kelsick each scored twice.

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