The Norwalk softball team advanced to the regional finals on Saturday night while the baseball team finished the season with a first round Substate defeat.

Softball wins 8-0

The 2nd-ranked Warrior softball team moved within one game of a fourth consecutive state tournament berth, defeating Fort Madison 8-0 in a Class 4A, Region 3 semifinal in Norwalk. Senior Carly Brewer and sophomore Leah Crick combined to pitch a five-inning perfect game for the Warriors, retiring all 15 Bloodhound batters on the night. Brewer struck out four batters in four innings and Crick worked a 1-2-3 fifth with one K.

Offensively, Norwalk did most of their damage in a four-run second inning and a three-run fifth. Brewer went 2-for-3 at the plate with a double and one RBI. Cambry Livingston hit an RBI double while Nyah Hulbert, Bailey Birmingham, Maddie Gullion, Dani Peters and Ava Garvey all added a single. Six players drove in one run each for the Warriors, who were aided by a handful of Fort Madison errors.

Norwalk improved to 32-7 overall and will host Oskaloosa in Tuesday’s Region 3 championship game at 7:00 p.m. The Indians knocked off 11th-ranked Winterset 5-3 on Saturday night, improving to 15-20. The Warriors beat Oskaloosa three times during Little Hawkeye Conference play, winning 10-0, 14-0 and 9-0.

Baseball loses 10-0

The Norwalk baseball team was defeated by Southeast Polk 10-0 on Saturday night in a Class 4A, Substate 2 first round game heard live on the KNIA3 stream. The host Rams broke open a close contest with six runs in the bottom of the fifth and added one in the sixth to win by the 10-run rule.

The story of the night was Southeast Polk junior Alex Williams, who pitched a one-hit shutout. Briley Purcell’s second-inning single accounted for the lone Warrior base runner as Williams notched eight strikeouts in six frames.

The Rams plated a pair of unearned runs in the first inning and showcased good discipline at the plate, totaling six hits. Warrior pitchers Eli Benschoter, Purcell and Ashton Hans combined to issue 13 free passes via nine walks and four hit batsmen. The Rams’ six-run fifth included two-run singles by Jaxson Regan and Kaden Hills.

Southeast Polk is now 23-17 and will host Des Moines Lincoln in the semifinal round on Monday. Norwalk finished 13-17 overall and will lose seven seniors off this year’s squad.