Van Meter fans couldn’t have asked for much more this week with standout performances from both the softball and baseball teams. (Events covered July 1-8)
Softball (28-2)
Wins over ACGC and Des Moines Christian officially put a cap on a perfect run through the WCAC for the second year in a row for Van Meter. Stretching back to 2023, it now marks 58 straight league wins for the Bulldogs.
With an 18-3 win over Saydel as well, the Bulldogs also marked their highest four-game scoring stretch of the season, outscoring opponents 59-4. And that was all while staying true to the team’s identity, committed to small ball, as Aniston and Finley Netten hit the team’s only two home runs during the stretch.
Overall, in the four-game stretch, Mady Schnell scored a high of nine runs while Alice Ruggles’ seven runs batted in led the team. And overall, 23 players either scored or drove in at least one run. That was more than the team’s seven total strikeouts.
Van Meter’s momentum carried into Wednesday’s regional action against Kuemper Catholic (played after this week’s edition printing deadline).
Baseball (23-8)
Despite two more wins in the WCAC against ACGC this week, the Bulldogs were left off the top of the conference standings for the first time since 2017, ending a spectacular run.
With a 15-3 record in league play, Van Meter tied for second place with Des Moines Christian, trailing behind 18-0 Pleasantville (on a side note for some irony: The Trojans’ only loss of the season came at the hands of Pella Christian, a matchup that also spoiled the Bulldogs’ state tournament a couple of years).
But that was all just a warm-up for Tuesday’s matchup with Clarion-Goldfield-Dows in the substate quarterfinals. Ending in just four innings, the Bulldogs advanced to the semis with a 15-0 win in hand.
Van Meter now hosts Roland-Story on Saturday, just two wins away from returning to the state tournament. Roland is hot from a 9-0 win over Garner Hayfield Ventura.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Van Meter softball heats up more, baseball shuts out first-round game