KEOKUK – The Keokuk High School softball team had to play against Fort Madison great Erica Martinez in the past.

The Chiefs had to play against her strategy Thursday in a Class 4A Region 3 postseason game at Joyce Park and lost 8-2.

The win advances the Bloodhounds (13-14) to Saturday’s game at No. 2 ranked Norwalk (31-7) for a 7 p.m. game.

Martinez, now Darnell, is a Fort Madison assistant coach and the mother of the game’s winning pitcher Lucia Darnell.

Darnell, just an eighth-grader, allowed four hits but no earned runs and no walks while setting down six Chiefs on strikeouts for a complete game victory.

Darnell said she knew she would be pitching the postseason game the night before and it made her nervous “a little bit, I guess.”

FMHS head coach Kyle Doherty had no qualms.

“Absolutely not. She’s a hammer,” Doherty said. “She’s proven herself. It would’ve been different if the numbers said something else, but her numbers are very good and they’re very good against Keokuk, so it made perfect sense to me.”

Darnell, who has a 7-4 record this year, said she relied on her mom’s strategy — Martinez Darnell calls the pitches — and her teammates defense.

“I trust my teammates to make plays behind me and score for me,” Darnell said. “And I like having her in there calling pitches. I can trust her.”

Fort Madison dented the scoreboard, which showed the Bloodhounds as the home team due to their facilities not meeting the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union standards to host a game, in the second inning.

Ava Taylor’s single got it started and a Keokuk error kept it going. Keokuk pitcher Ada Wood gave up one of her four walks then Ava Fuget singled in two runs. Jordyn Marshall, who was 3-for-4, hit a two-out single to score another run but Keokuk got out of the inning when Kali Ames threw Fuget out at home.

The third inning saw another Keokuk error, three walks and a double by Laci Gathers for a 7-0 Bloodhound lead.

The Chiefs responded in the top of the fourth inning, which started with a Bloodhounds error, a pop out and Wood’s hit that allowed Suzie Whitaker to hustle home for the first Keokuk run.

Gracie Thompson’s single to center field brought Wood home for another Chiefs run. Kenadi Ames ripped a double to center field but fly outs followed leaving Thompson and Ames stranded.

“We just couldn’t get the bats going,” Keokuk coach Tim Thompson said. “We made a couple errors but we didn’t let it get away from us.”

Fort Madison made it 8-2 in the bottom of the sixth inning on three straight singles. Marshall started it and Brylie Lorene followed. Kylie Lumino cracked a sharp liner to center field that drove in Marshall.

Lorence and Lumino kept running on the throw to home and Whitaker gunned Lorence down going to third base.

Thompson came in to the circle to get the last out of the inning

Wood struck out five and gave up 10 hits with four of the eight runs earned.

In the top of the seventh, Makayla Weilandich’s two-out single tried to keep the Chiefs hopes alive but a ground out ended the game.

Lorence had a double, going 2-for-3. Lumino also had two hits.

Doherty said he was interested in seeing how a continually successful program like Norwalk operates and his team was ready to go play the Warriors anytime.

“I think it’s a quick turnaround looking at it now, but I believe they’d go there right now,” Doherty said. “I truly believe that they’re ready to go right now.”

The Chiefs end the year with a 3-30 record.

“There was a lot of emotions with it being a night of lasts for some of them,” Thompson said. “All good things come to an end. It’s just part of life.”

The Keokuk postgame huddle was filled with tears, extended hugs, and some laughter.

“You just tell them you appreciate everything they did,” Thompson said. “Having four seniors with one of them being my last child coming through makes it a little bit tough, tougher than normal. It is all part of it.”