A second straight trip to the state tournament is on the line for the Sigourney Savages tonight when they welcome Wapello to town for the Class 1A Region 8 finals in continuing coverage of the high school softball playoffs on KCII.

Sigourney is 22-7 this season and ranked sixth in Class 1A, having won a fourth straight South Iowa Cedar League championship. But now, after weather postponed their game from last night, they try to reach state for the third time in the last four years and the seventh time overall.

The Savages have leaned on a spectacular final season for pitcher Carly Goodwin. The senior is well on her way to a fourth straight all-state selection after putting up a 20-2 record, a 0.31 earned-run average and over 300 strikeouts.

The reigning Gatorade Player of the Year for Iowa high school softball is also having a career year as a hitter, leading Sigourney with a .500 batting average, 11 doubles, six home runs and 39 runs batted in.

Two-time all-state catcher Josephine Moore has also had a dominant season at the plate, batting .414 with eight doubles, a team-high 10 homers and 37 RBI, while fellow junior Ava Fisch sets the table as a lead-off hitter with a .404 average and 31 runs scored.

But if the Savages are going to make a return trip to the state championships, head coach Shelly Streigle tells KCII Sports their defense needs to be at an all-state caliber as well.

“These girls dive in practice,” Streigle says, “and we really work on going after the ball and finding that point where you either have to stay back and let it bounce or dive in after the ball.”

Sigourney will have to go through a Wapello team that has gone 20-13 thanks largely to all-state pitcher Ada Boysen. The senior has a 19-8 record and an impressive 1.55 ERA while also racking up over 300 strikeouts.

The Savages have defeated the Arrows in a playoff game each of the last two seasons. This time, the winner advances to Fort Dodge for next week’s Class 1A state quarterfinals.

You can catch Sigourney softball battle Wapello for a spot at state this evening on KCII 102.5 FM and AM 1380 and streaming on KCIIradio.com and the KCII2 app, starting with the Roder Epoxy Pregame Show at 6:30.