FORT DODGE — Waterloo Columbus’ third trip to the state softball tournament was a charm. It was also an intense white-knuckle test of mettle.
Desperately working for one more win in order to extend the careers of a memorable senior class, Columbus finally secured an elusive opening-round victory on a picture-perfect Monday night at Harlan and Hazel Rogers Sports Complex in Fort Dodge.
It didn’t come easy. On the verge of charting new territory, the wind was taken out of the Sailors’ sails with one swing of the bat.
Albia slugger Alex Beard clocked a game-tying grand slam home run in the bottom of the fifth inning, and Columbus’ attempt to avoid a third consecutive loss in the state tournament’s opening round was in jeopardy. That’s when the bottom of the Sailors’ lineup responded.
Seniors Jalila Hart and Maliyah Little opened the top half of the sixth inning with singles before No. 9 hitter Reagan Lindsay pulled a 2-2 pitch into left field for a bases-clearing double that gave Columbus the lead for good en route to an 8-5 victory over Albia that will go down in Sailors’ softball lore.
“Unbelievable,” Columbus coach Chris Olmstead said, addressing his sophomore Lindsay’s clutch at bat. “It was just awesome. Two strikes on her and she comes through with that hit. We needed to respond and they did it. That’s why this group is so special. They’re just so resilient.”
Brushing aside the pressure of a late-game momentum shift, Lindsay simply embraced the moment.
“Usually I’m a pretty tense person,” she said. “But in that moment I was just like, ‘I have to relax. I can’t tense up. My team needs me here.’ I just relaxed and one came to me and I found a hole.”
After scoring on Alivia Schultz’s two-out infield single, Lindsay helped Columbus protect its newfound lead by gunning down an Albia runner trying to reach home from second off a single to left field for the third out of the sixth inning.
“It’s funny because we’ve actually been practicing throws from outfield to home all week,” Columbus catcher Sydney Schultz said. “We knew that was going to happen.”
The Sailors’ start to this game — against an Albia team (27-5) that finished runner-up in 2017 and placed fourth last year — was as strong as their finish. After chasing opposition throughout two previous state tournament openers, Columbus quickly bolted into the lead.
Senior leadoff hitter Taylor Hogan singled twice and stole second before doubling and scoring for a third time in the top of the fifth inning. Sydney Schultz blasted a two out, two-run homer to left in the third inning, and drove Hogan home with a single in the fifth for a 5-1 advantage that chased Albia starter and Creighton recruit Jena Lawrence from the game.
“It was going to be really important for us to break the ice, for us to be the ones that were going to play with the lead because we had never really done that before,” Olmstead said. “The first two previous trips here we were always playing catch-up.”
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Columbus’ defense was on point, as well. Alivia Schultz fielded a series of grounders from third base, Little ran down multiple fly balls in right field and Sydney Schultz caught a runner stealing on a pitchout throw to Hogan.
Then Albia caught up.
Three consecutive hits set the stage for Beard, who clocked her team-leading ninth home run with the Lady Dees down to their final seven outs.
“You’ve got a 5-1 lead and you’re cruising along and then all of a sudden one swing of the bat,” Olmstead related. “They had the right girl up at the right time. We didn’t have a place to put her. We had to pitch to her.
“But to respond to that? They could have folded. I’ve seen teams capitulate right after that and all the wheels fall off. Not this group.”
Sydney Schultz, one of multiple fifth-year contributors, also didn’t see any quit within what she characterized as a scrappy team.
“It was redemption for us,” Schultz said, as the weight of trying secure an elusive first round state victory lifted off her team’s shoulders. “We just knew we needed to really execute this game. We all wanted it more than anything.”
Columbus 8, Albia 5
Columbus 102 023 0 — 8 11 0
Albia 001 040 0 — 5 10 2
Kayla Sproul and Sydney Schultz. Jena Lawrence, Mackenna Jones (5) and Alex Beard. 2B — Taylor Hogan, Reagan Lindsay (Columbus). HR — Alex Beard (Albia). Sydney Schultz (Columbus).
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Clarksville players console each other after falling to Collins-Maxwell 4-3 in the Class 1A state softball final on Thursday night.
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Clarksville's Cheyenne Behrends holds up the ball after tagging out Collins-Maxwell's Alexis Houge in a collision at third base during the fifth inning of Thursday's Class 1A state softball championship game in Fort Dodge.
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Clarksville's Cheyenne Behrends falls over as she tries to catch a ball at third base as Collins-Maxwell's Alexis Houge slides in during the Class 1A Championship State Softball game on Thursday night.
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Hannah Caple of Collins-Maxwell puts the tag on Clarksville's Chloe Ross for an out during Thursday's Class 1A state softball title game.
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Clarksville's Janet Borchardt dives just missing a fly ball to the outfield during the Class 1A Championship State Softball game against Collins-Maxwell on Thursday night.
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Columbus' Sydney Schultz catches a ball from the pitcher during the Class 3A semi-final game against Davenport Assumption at State Softball on Wednesday afternoon.
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Columbus' Jenna Schott jumps up to try and catch a throw to first as Davenport Assumption's runner is called safe during the Class 3A semi-final game at State Softball on Wednesday afternoon.
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Columbus' Jalila Hart catches a ball hit to the outfield during the Class 3A semi-final game against Davenport Assumption at State Softball on Wednesday afternoon.
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Alivia Schultz of Waterloo Columbus slides into second base during Wednesday's Class 3A state softball semifinal against Davenport Assumption.
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A Columbus fan catch a foul ball hit into the bleachers during the Class 3A semi-final game against Davenport Assumption at State Softball on Wednesday afternoon.
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Waterloo Columbus' Jalila Hart makes a running catch in center field during Wednesday's Class 3A state softball semifinal against Davenport Assumption.
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Charles City catcher Ashlyn Hoeft lunges to try and tag North Scott's Kate Hayes at home plate, but Hayes scored the game-winning run in a 3-2, nine-inning Class 4A state softball semifinal Wednesday.
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Charles City's Ashlyn Hoeft tears up as she congratulates North Scott on winning 3-2 in the 9th inning during the Class 4A semi-final game at State Softball on Wednesday night.
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Charles City's team crowds around home plate to celebrate after Ashlyn Hoeft's home run during the Class 4A semifinal game against North Scott.
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Charles City's Lisabeth Fiser slides into second base as the ball bounces over the head of North Scott's Kate Hayes during the Class 4A state softball semifinals Wednesday in Fort Dodge.
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Charles City's team and fans cheer after a home run during the Class 4A semi-final game against North Scott at State Softball on Wednesday night.
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Charles City's Saide Gebel reaches out to make the catch at first as North Scott's Rachel Anderson is called safe during the Class 4A semi-final game at State Softball on Wednesday night.
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Clarksville fans cheer after their team defeated Lisbon 1-0 to advance to the Class 1A final game on Wednesday afternoon.
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Clarksville's Kori Wedeking pitches against Lisbon during Wednesday's Class 1A state softball semifinal in Fort Dodge.
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Clarksville's Emma Poppe stretches for a ball as she gets the Lisbon runner out at first during the Class 1A semi-final game at State Softball on Wednesday afternoon.
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Clarksville's team celebrates after defeating Lisbon 1-0 in the Class 1A semi-final game to advance to the finals of State Softball on Wednesday afternoon.
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Clarksville's Emma Poppe celebrates after scoring the only run in the Indians' 1-0 victory over Lisbon Wednesday in the Class 1A state softball semifinals.
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Clarksville's Cheyenne Behrends grounds a ball and throws to first during the Class 1A semi-final game against Lisbon at State Softball on Wednesday afternoon.
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Charles City players celebrate their walk-off win against Dallas Center-Grimes Tuesday in the first round of the state softball tournament in Fort Dodge.
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Charles City senior Samantha Heyer delivers a pitch against Dallas Center-Grimes Tuesday in the first round of the state softball tournament in Fort Dodge.
COMETS RALLY FOR A LATE WALK-OFF WIN -- LITERALLY

Charles City fans cheer on the Comets at the state softball tournament in Fort Dodge on Tuesday. The Comets scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh -- the last on a bases-loaded walk -- to pull out a 4-3 win over Dallas Center-Grimes. Details, PAGE B1
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Charles City junior Lisabeth Fiser takes a swing at a pitch during Tuesday's walk-off win over Dallas Center-Grimes at the state softball tournament in Fort Dodge.
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Charles City freshman Rachel Chambers beats the throw at first base during Tuesday's state softball victory over Dallas Center-Grimes.
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Charles City players celebrate their walk-off win against Dallas Center-Grimes Tuesday in the first round of the state softball tournament in Fort Dodge.
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Independence's Brooke Beatty catches the throw to first, trying to get West Delaware's Eva Winn out during the Class 4A game at State Softball on Tuesday afternoon.
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Independence's Abby Davis is tagged out at home by West Delaware's Leah Wegmann during the opening round of the Class 4A state softball tournament Tuesday in Fort Dodge.
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Independence fans cheer for their team during the Class 4A game against West Delaware at State Softball on Tuesday afternoon.
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Independence fans find shade to keep cool as they watch the game against West Delaware during the Class 4A game at State Softball on Tuesday afternoon.
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Independence's Mackenzie Hupke pitches against West Delaware during the Class 4A game at State Softball on Tuesday afternoon.
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Independence's Sydney Hearn throws a ball in from the outfield during the Class 4A game against West Delaware at State Softball on Tuesday afternoon.
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Independence's Allie Jo Zieser calls for the ball as a West Delaware runner rounds third during the Class 4A game at State Softball on Tuesday afternoon.
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Independence's Abby Meiborg slides into second base during the Class 4A game against West Delaware at State Softball on Tuesday afternoon.
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Independence's Sydney Hearn hits a ball during Tuesday's state tournament game against West Delaware.
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Clarksville's Chloe Ross catches a line drive during the Class 1A game against Bishop Garrigan at State Softball on Monday afternoon.
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Clarksville's Cheyenne Behrends is called safe at first base during the Class 1A game at State Softball against Bishop Garrigan on Monday afternoon.
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Clarksville's Kori Wediking pitches against Bishop Garrigan during the Class 1A game at State Softball on Monday afternoon.
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Clarksville's Chloe Ross runs to second base as Bishop Garrigan's Bailey Meister grounds a ball during the Class 1A game at State Softball on Monday afternoon.
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Clarksville's team cheers as teammate Cheyenne Behrends rounds first base after a single against Bishop Garrigan during the Class 1A game at State Softball on Monday afternoon.
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Clarksville's Ainsley Lovrien slides into second base and is called safe as Bishop Garrigan's Ashlyn Hovey tries for the tag during the Class 1A game at State Softball on Monday afternoon.
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Columbus' Reagan Lindsay reaches up to catch a fly ball above her head during the Class 3A game against Albia at State Softball on Monday night.
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Columbus' team celebrates after defeating Albia 8-5 in the first round of the Class 3A state tournament Monday night in Fort Dodge.
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Columbus' Sophie Meier catches a ball at first base during the Class 3A game against Albia at State Softball on Monday night.
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Columbus' Kayla Sproul pitches against Albia during the Class 3A game at State Softball on Monday night.
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Columbus cheers as Sydney Schultz reaches home plate after hitting a homer during the Class 3A game against Albia at State Softball on Monday night.
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