State bound. That is where the Sigourney (22-11) softball team is headed to next week after they knocked off No. 3 Martensdale-St. Marys (32-4) on Monday night, 3-2 to punch their ticket to the class 1A state softball tournament.

Despite their young squad, the experience of being in the regional final each of the last three years came up huge for a team that was trying to make that next step as a program. Who better to lead that charge than their lone senior Kendall Streigle? Coming down the stretch of the season Streigle has been one of the toughest pitchers in the state and Monday was no different. She held a team that was top five in the state in about every offensive category to just two runs on six hits in the seven innings of work. With the senior putting together another gem in the circle the offense was able to do their part to capture the victory.

The Savages got the party started in the third inning with a run and then tacked on one more in the fourth. While Sigourney was up 2-0 going into the fifth inning, the Blue Devils were able to get on the board with a run and then one more in the sixth to notch it up at 2-2. Heading into the final inning the Savages would not be denied as they managed a run in the top of the seventh to put the team into a frenzy and send them to the big dance. A trio of juniors contributed to the scoring for the Savages including Autum Barthelman, Summer Barthelman, and Leah Carter combining for five hits and three RBI. Madison Schauf was 3-for-3 with a run scored.

With the win the Savages will now play No. 1 Akron-Westfield (35-2) in the first round of the class 1A state tournament on Monday at 3 p.m. KCII will be there in Fort Dodge to cover their state run.