Little League softball: Monroe County, Davis County win district titles

Jul. 16—KEOSAUQUA — Even in the midst of their championship battle, Rylee Samson and Lydia Dekraai shared in a moment that was bigger than the game.

Leading 7-3 in the fifth inning of the Iowa District 7 Little League Softball championship game, an incident off the diamond briefly took the focus off the action on Manning Field at the Eddie and Mildred Ferguson Complex. Dekraai, Davis County's starting catcher, was visibly shaken up following the incident.

Standing at home plate for Monroe County was Rylee Samson, who was trying to reach base for the third time in as many trips to the plate. Samson's focus on trying to win a game on the field was immediately trumped by concern for a friend.

"Me and Lydia have had a bond for a long time. I knew she was having a hard time. I heard her talking and I asked her if she was doing okay," Samson said. "When she started crying, all I thought was 'Oh no.'"

Samson immediately took a knee and gave her friend a hug. So did Samson's mother and head coach, Kim, in a moment of true sportsmanship that transcended even a championship contest.

"I cannot speak enough about Lydia. She's the most kind-hearted and hard-working girl," Kim Samson said. "I love that kid to death. She's the leader of that team. She's a great ball player."

And a player that both Monroe County's coach and her daughter wanted to be at her best over the course of the final two innings.

"I wanted to get her back in the game. It's not the same without (Dekraai) in it," Rylee Samson said. "It feels more comfortable with her in the game."

Dekraai not only got back in the game with the help of her friends both in her dugout and the dugouts of the opponents, but helped keep Monroe County from adding to their late lead starting and finishing off a run down of Amiah Suarez in the top of the sixth. The defensive gem turned in by Dekraai helped her pitcher, Ally Batterson, get through a scoreless inning despite hitting three of five batters faced.

"There are a lot of catchers we've faced that I could have done what I did and gotten home with (Suarez)," Kim Samson said. "With (Dekraai), you cannot play around with her. We have all the respect in the work for Lydia. She's an outstanding player and one of my daughter's best friends. We take pictures all the time after the games. I'm proud of her and I'm proud of our girls as well."

Monroe County ultimately went on to win the 12-year-old district title with a 7-3 win over Davis County, scoring four runs in the very first inning on the way to earning a state tournament berth. The run at state, and an overall winning postseason, ended on Saturday with an 11-0 loss to Johnston after earning a wild 13-11 win over Morningside scoring five times in the bottom of the fifth using four hits and an error to regain the lead without giving up an out.

"Our goal going up there (was) to get the bat on the ball a little more," Kim Samson said. "Defense wins game at the end of the day. If we don't make plays, we're not in those games."

Defense defined the decisive games in both the Iowa District 7 Little League softball games for both the 10 and 12-year-olds. The Davis County 10-year-olds wrapped up their season earning a 3-1 win over Van Buren County in the fourth inning to overcome an impressive outing in the pitching circle by Audrey Pedretti who struck out 14 of 22 Davis County batters faced in the season finale for both teams.

Monroe County, meanwhile, was able to stymie Davis County in the 12-year-old district final with key defensive plays behind Hayden Carter and Samson. The key defensive play of the game was made by Clea Keegel, who fielded a ground ball off the bat of Addi McClure stepping on third to force out Batterson before throwing to first for an inning-ending double play.

"My mom always tells me that, if there's a hard hit ball with runners at first and second, step on the bag and go to first," Keegel said. "I don't work on that lot. I was happy and excited. We like to keep our teammates up."

Both Davis County and Monroe County, no strangers to battling out in big softball games on various age levels, may not be done competing against each other for state championship hopes. The biggest game between the schools may be yet to come this week should both Davis County and Albia win their Class 3A Iowa High School State Softball Tournament openers on Monday night in Fort Dodge, setting up a potential semifinal showdown in Fort Dodge on Wednesday afternoon at the Harlan and Hazel Rogers Sports Complex.

It would be just another chance for two top southern Iowa programs to get the best out of each other. Both teams and their players would relish that opportunity and the big-game opportunities that will certainly be coming in the years to come.

"I love playing Davis County," Rylee Samson said. "We love playing each other. I'll go watch them if I have time to. I love to go watch them."

— Scott Jackson can be reached at sjackson@ottumwacourier.com. Follow him on Twitter@CourierScott.