Van Meter softball advances to state

The Van Meter softball team secured its spot in the state tournament after winning the regional championship last week.

The Bulldogs downed Pocahontas Area 10-0 on July 10 in the regional championship to advance to the state tournament for the second straight season.

Head coach James Flaws said the team did what it needed to do early on to get an early lead, putting pressure on the Indians and taking pressure off the Bulldogs.

“I think we started off very well in all three postseason games, but especially that Pocahontas game,” Flaws said.

Senior Macy Blomgren had another strong day on the mound, throwing 10 strikeouts to keep Pocahontas Area scoreless. It was her third straight game holding opponents scoreless, as she pitched the previous two regional games for Van Meter, throwing 28 combined strikeouts in that time.

Flaws said having Blomgren is a tremendous leader, and having her in the circle for the postseason gave the team a lot of confidence and juice.

“[It] kind of fuels our offense when she goes out there and starts the game off really well, and our offense gets to go and score some runs if they can, and that’s happened all three games,” Flaws said.

The Bulldogs will now begin preparing for the state quarterfinal, where they take on Missouri Valley.

Flaws said Van Meter will continue to work on what it can control as well as hitting and putting the ball in play, as Flaws said Missouri Valley has a good strikeout pitcher.

The Bulldogs fell short in the quarterfinal game at state last season, and Flaws said they are taking some of those lessons to try to get farther this season.

“We’ve been talking a lot about finishing every game, finishing every play, every at bat, go win the at bat, win the play that’s in front of you,” Flaws said.

He added that the team’s experience at state last year has motivated it to take the next step this season to win the first game and compete for a state title.

Flaws said reaching the state tournament is tough, and doing so two years in a row speaks to the character of the team and the culture of the softball program.

Van Meter will take on Missouri Valley at 3 p.m. July 18 at Rogers Park.

Baseball falls short

The Van Meter baseball team saw its season come to an end when it fell short in the regional championship on July 11.

The Bulldogs took on Pella Christian for the chance to go to state, falling 2-1.

Junior pitcher Rhett Pleggenkuhle had a solid game, throwing eight strikeouts in eight innings, however Van Meter struggled to hit, finishing with a .065 batting average and 13 strikeouts in the loss.

This article originally appeared on Dallas County News: Van Meter softball advances to state, baseball falls short