The Norwalk Warriors head back to Fort Dodge on Monday for a third consecutive appearance in the Class 4A State Softball Tournament. The 4A field is once again loaded with tradition-rich programs as seven of last year’s eight qualifiers have returned. The bracket includes three schools from the Raccoon River Conference as well as the co-champions of the Little Hawkeye Conference – Norwalk and Dallas Center-Grimes.

The third-seeded Warriors enter state with a 29-7 record and will face No. 6 seed North Scott (30-5) in a quarterfinal game Monday afternoon at Harlan and Hazel Rogers Sports Complex. First pitch is set for 3:00 p.m. The Warriors lost to the Lancers 6-4 in last year’s semifinal round en route to a third-place finish. North Scott lost to Winterset 5-3 in the 4A state title game.

Additional first-round 4A pairings include No. 2 seed Dallas Center-Grimes vs. Carlisle, top-seeded North Polk vs. Western Dubuque and ADM vs. Fort Dodge. DC-G is the only 4A qualifier that wasn’t part of last year’s bracket, taking the place of 2023 champ Winterset.

If Norwalk and Dallas Center-Grimes both win their first round game, an intriguing semifinal awaits. The Mustangs defeated the Warriors in two out of three Little Hawkeye matchups this summer, with all three games decided by three runs or less.

The 4A semifinals are scheduled for Wednesday, July 24, at 10:30 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. The third-place and championship games will be held on the evening of Thursday, July 25. Monday’s losing teams will play one final consolation game on Tuesday afternoon.