The Sigourney Savages are back at the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union state softball tournament for a second straight season and the third time in the last four years.
Now they look to bring home the ultimate prize of a championship, and the first step for sixth-ranked Sigourney is to defeat number-three Remsen St. Mary’s in the Class 1A state quarterfinals tonight in a game you can hear on KCII.
Sigourney is 23-7 and has won 10 of its last 11 games behind three-time all-state pticher Carly Goodwin. The senior has nearly 1,300 strikeouts in her career and has been dominant again this season with a 21-2 record, a minuscule 0.33 earned-run average and over 330 K’s.
Goodwin is also having a career year with the bat with a team-high .495 batting average, 13 doubles, six home runs and 39 runs batted in. Two-time all-state catcher Josephine Moore is also tearing it up at the plate with a .413 average, 1o homers and 37 RBI.
After winning the South Iowa Cedar League for a fourth straight year, Sigourney used two walk-off wins against Highland and Wapello to win a Class 1A Region 8 championship and earn their way to state for the seventh time in school history.
But, after losing to eventual champion North Linn in extra innings in the state quarterfinals last season, Savages head coach Shelly Streigle tells KCII Sports that this team has been motivated for a year to do more than just being a participant in Fort Dodge.
“They believe that they can win,” Streigle says, “they think they should win and they fight until they can win.”
Sigourney will be taking on a Remsen St. Mary’s team that is undefeated and playing at state for a fourth straight summer. Senior Mya Bunkers has been superb for the Hawks by hitting .616 with 15 doubles, six triples, three home runs, 40 runs scored and another 36 runs driven in.
Senior pitcher Marina Cronin has also been dominant in the circle for Remsen St. Mary’s, going 17-0 with a 0.84 ERA and nearly 140 strikeouts. A win over the Hawks would move the Savages to the state semifinals tomorrow evening against either Wayne or Southeast Warren.
Sigourney willl try to win in the Class 1A quarterfinals for the first time since 2017. You can catch Savage softball at the state tournament this evening on all KCII signals and streaming on KCIIradio.com and the KCII apps, starting with the Roder Epoxy Pregame Show at 7 o’clock.