WE’RE BACK!! Kee softball team completes State Tournament return with 1-0 triumph
Members of the Kee softball team infield celebrate after the final out that sealed the Hawks’ return to the Class 1A State Softball Tournament with a 1-0 triumph over 11th-rated North Butler Monday, July 11. Making their third trip to the season grand finale in school history, and their second in three years, the Hawks will now play their first-round Class 1A State Tournament game Monday, July 18 on Mittera Field at Harlan Rogers Park in Fort Dodge at 5:30 p.m. against unranked Belle Plaine (20-10). View and find out how to purchase this photo and many more at the “Photo Galleries” link.
by Val Meyer
It’s been two years since the unranked Kee softball team sent shockwaves through Class 1A by playing their way to a State Runner-Up finish in the Class 1A State Tournament, and after a year’s absence the now second-rated Hawks are ready to make waves again in Fort Dodge. It is last year’s absence that likely fueled this year’s return trip to the season grand finale for the Hawks, as a one-run loss in the regional finals last season has been a motivating factor for what played out this past week to be a three-game sweep through this season’s Class 1A Region 3 Tournament bracket and another trip back to Fort Dodge.
The Hawks opened their postseason tournament run with a 15-3 blasting of fellow Upper Iowa Conference squad Turkey Valley at home in just four innings in a Wednesday, July 6 Class 1A Region 3 quarterfinals match-up. A 7-1 regional semifinals victory over Janesville Friday, July 8 then set the table for some Monday, July 11 dramatics that played out to a 1-0 triumph for the Hawks - again in front of their hometown fans - over 11th-rated North Butler, paving the way for Kee’s return to the Class 1A State Tournament this next week.
“There has been incredible support from the community, and the team as a whole appreciates all the fans that came to the field who watched and/or listened to the games on the radio,” Kee head softball coach Liz Hill said.
With their new program standard 36-6 season record, the Hawks will now prepare to open their Class 1A State Tournament return Monday, July 18 at Harlan Rogers Park in Fort Dodge with a first-round match-up against unranked Belle Plaine (20-10) in a game to be played at 5:30 p.m. on Mittera Field.
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