Two days after playing perhaps their best game of the year in a rout of Western Dubuque, it simply wasn’t Norwalk’s afternoon in Wednesday’s semifinal round of the Class 4A State Softball Tournament in Fort Dodge.

Leading 4-2 after two innings, the Warriors managed just one hit the rest of the way and committed an uncharacteristic five errors, losing to North Scott 6-4 at the Rogers Sports Complex. The game was broadcast live on 94.3 KNIA.

The eighth-seeded Lady Lancers, who brought back their entire roster from last year’s third-place finisher, improved to 28-11 and will face No. 7 seed Winterset in tonight’s 4A championship game. The fourth-seeded Warriors dropped to 32-10 and will meet Fort Dodge in today’s third-place final at 6:00 p.m. on 94.3 KNIA.

Norwalk coach Beau Livingston credits North Scott pitcher Maddy McDermott for settling in and showing who she was after the Warriors plated four runs in the bottom of the second. He also tells KNIA-KRLS Sports that the Warriors never looked fully comfortable in the field facing the Lancers’ speedy lineup.

“I was a little disappointed on how we played defensively, but it wasn’t a lack of effort [or] a lack of focus,” Livingston said. “Our kids were ready to go. It was just… that’s the game sometimes, and today wasn’t our day.”

North Scott took an early 2-0 lead in the first when McDermott slugged her 15th home run of the season to dead center field. Norwalk countered with four runs on five hits in the second. Kaylee Cary’s double got the rally going and the Warriors showcased some aggressive base running along the way as Bailey Birmingham and Nyah Hulbert both scored from second base on infield hits.

Only two Norwalk batters reached base the rest of the game against McDermott – a Northern Iowa signee – who retired the final 10 batters she faced. Livingston noted that McDermott abandoned her riseball as the game went on and found success by pitching down in the zone.

The difference in the game was North Scott’s four-run top of the third that started with a single by seven-hole batter Abby Rouse. Following a pair of bunts that resulted in an error and a hit, Norwalk junior pitcher Olivia Dougherty relieved Zadie Wadle with the bases loaded and nobody out. Dougherty retired the first batter she faced on a shallow fly ball, but a walk to McKinley Toohey forced in one run and an error let in two more, making it 5-4 Lancers. North Scott added another unearned run in the seventh for insurance.

Jaylynn Brandt and Maddie Gullion both had two-hit games for Norwalk. Adalynn Johnson tripled and doubled for North Scott while Sydney Skarich had a pair of singles. The Warriors struck out just three times against McDermott but did not draw any walks. Wadle and Dougherty combined to issue six walks, although three were intentional passes.

Coach Livingston calls tonight’s third-place final vs. Fort Dodge a character game. “Right now, coming back tomorrow doesn’t sound like an awesome thing,” he said, “but we get one more day to spend with each other. We’ve got the opportunity to end the season on a win. We’ve got the opportunity to finish top-three in the state. So a lot to play for.”