The field for the Class 4A State Softball Tournament is set.
The Norwalk Warriors clinched their second consecutive state tourney trip with Tuesday’s 5-0 win over Burlington and will be the number four seed in the 4A bracket. The Warriors will face fifth-seeded Western Dubuque in a 5:30 p.m. quarterfinal game on Monday, July 17, at the Rogers Sports Complex in Fort Dodge.
The rest of the 4A bracket will feature top-seeded North Polk against No. 8 North Scott, No. 2 Carlisle vs. No. 7 Winterset and No. 3 Fort Dodge vs. No. 6 ADM. Half of the 4A field hails from the Raccoon River Conference.
Norwalk, the Little Hawkeye Conference champion, enters state with a 31-9 record while the Bobcats of Western Dubuque – from the rugged Mississippi Valley Conference – are 29-9. Western Dubuque advanced to state with a 12-2 regional final win over Maquoketa.
Monday’s quarterfinal winners advance to the semifinal round on Wednesday afternoon. The losing teams will play a consolation game on Tuesday. The third-place and championship games are slated for next Thursday.
Norwalk has a 1-2 record against teams in the 4A field. The Warriors defeated North Polk 4-0 and lost to Fort Dodge 5-0 at the Dallas Center-Grimes Tournament on June 30. They lost a nine-inning game at Winterset 1-0 on June 27.