KNIA’s Top 10 list of Norwalk sports stories from the past year has reached its pinnacle.

Without further ado, the number one Norwalk story from the 2021-22 school year is the Warrior softball team’s thrilling regional final comeback past Benton Community to earn the program’s first state tournament trip since 2014.

The excitement and magnitude of the moment, along with an outstanding overall season, combine to make Norwalk Softball our top-ranked Warrior memory of the countdown.

On July 12, the fourth-ranked Warriors trailed No. 14 Benton 6-2 in the bottom of the seventh inning of a Class 4A regional final in Norwalk. Down to its final three outs, Norwalk plated five runs to beat the Bobcats 7-6 in walk-off fashion.

The magical rally began with a walk to pinch-hitter Grace Dehmer, then a monstrous home run by freshman Nyah Hulbert to quickly cut a four-run deficit in half.

The first seven Norwalk batters reached safely in the inning and the Warriors tied the score at 6-6 when Kaylee Cary slid home safely on Morgan Weeks’ RBI grounder to the hole at shortstop. Two batters later, freshman Bailey Birmingham – who was pinch-hit for to start the seventh – stepped to the plate with the bases loaded, two outs and a tie score.

Birmingham’s line-drive RBI single over shortstop sent the Warriors to the State Softball Tournament in Fort Dodge for the first time in eight years. Norwalk was defeated by fifth-ranked Carlisle 8-4 in the first round before shutting out Burlington 5-0 in a consolation game the next day.

The Warriors finished with a 30-8 overall record in Beau Livingston’s first year as head coach and narrowly placed second to Dallas Center-Grimes in the Little Hawkeye Conference with a record of 18-3. The team graduated three seniors in Weeks, Kady Vandemark and Mei Grant.

Junior pitcher Zadie Wadle and freshman outfielder Nyah Hulbert both earned first-team All-State honors from the Iowa Girls Coaches Association following the season. Sophomore outfielder Jaylynn Brandt was a third-team selection.

Coach Livingston says the things he will remember most about his first season at the helm are the relationships with the kids, their overall competitive spirits, their respect for one another as teammates and the season-long journey to end up at state.

“I really truly feel that they put the team above themselves,” he said.