FORT DODDGE – It’s a different look to the Iowa state softball tournament with its double-elimination format.

One thing that hasn’t changed is the seeding of teams prior to the tournament.

Exira-EHK/Audubon goes in as the No. 1 seed, by virtue of its 23-4 record, and as the top draw the Spartans get the No. 8 team, in this case Edgewood-Colesburg.

The two teams will meet in the Iowa Class 1A state tournament at noon Monday at Harlan Rogers Sports Complex, Fort Dodge, on the Farm Bureau Field.

TALE OF THE TAPE

The Vikettes were runners-up in the Tri-Rivers Conference’s West Division, coming in with a 27-10 overall record and 20-4 in the conference. They split with Tri-Rivers West champion North Linn in the regular-season, before defeating them 3-2 in the Class 1A Region 7 championship.

McKenna Hoefer had two doubles and two RBIs, and Lauren Kirby added an RBI single to pace the Vikettes past the Lynx. Rachel Eglseder pitched the winner with her six-hitter, with 14 strikeouts and one earned run allowed.

Sophomore Faith Dugan wields the big bat, with a .525 average and 64 hits, sending home 40 runners; 19 of her hits were extra bases, with four home runs. Eglseder (.459, 52 RBI), Eva Vaske (.400, 29 runs) and Kirby (.400, 29 runs) also have hit above 4.400 on a team that collectively goes .352. Dugan has 34 stolen bases with Vaske 24. Eglseder has a 1.45 ERA, going 23-7 and pitching 187-2/3 innings, with 297 strikeouts.

Exira-EHK/Audubon played its final round of the Western Iowa Conference this past season, going 13-4 in the league to place third, behind Riverside and Missouri Valley, both Class 2A schools. The Spartans split with Logan-Magnolia, which qualified for the Class 2A state tournament, during the regular season.

The Spartans defeated three Corner Conference teams, including Fremont-Mills 12-1 in the Region 2 championship, to reach the state meet. The Spartans took advantage of four Knights errors to get the win, as Riley Miller, Lucy Stanerson, Taryyn Petersen and Jordan Mulford each had two RBIs. Miller struck out six and the defense was perfect behind her.

Taryn Petersen had a .560 batting average during the season, with 23 RIs off 42 base hits, 16 for extras including five home runs. Bryli Petersen also hits hard, with four home runs off 26 base hits and her .356 average at the plate. Miller (.449, 34 RBI) and Anna Larsen (.431, 25 RBI) are also above .400 batting.

The Spartans are very aggressive on the basepaths, with just four thrown out in 141 attempts. Taryn Petersen has 44 steals, with Jordan Mulford adding 20. Miller went 17-4 on the mound, with a 1.59 ERA and 192 strikeouts vs. 32 walks in 114-2/3 innings, while Taryn Petersen adds a 2.50 ERA and 56 K’s in her 36-1/3 innings and a perfect 6-0 record.

COMING UP

Depending on the outcome of the game, the winner of the Exira-EHK/Audubon vs. Edgewood-Colesburg game returns to the field at 12:45 p.m. Tuesday, July 21, while the loser will play in a win-or-go-home game at 10:30 a.m. The opponent will be either West Monona (25-6) or Southeast Warren (22-4), and the second-round winner will play at least one game on Wednesday.

The team winning the elimination game will play again later on Tuesday, against the loser of the second-round winner’s game, with a 7:30 p.m. start.

The other half of the bracket is Clarksville (24-7) vs. North Butler (25-5), and Fort Dodge St. Edmond (25-9) vs. Remsen St. Mary’s (24-4).