Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: Ellie Doster of Fort Dodge celebrates after hitting an RBI triple against Sergeant Bluff-Luton during a Class 4A regional final on Tuesday at Rogers Park. For more photos, please visit CU.messengernews.net

The assumption, after all the victories and regional championship banners start to pile up and blur together, is that the Fort Dodge softball team’s success has become some kind of foregone conclusion.

Dodger head coach Andi Adams will always remind fans nothing could be further from the truth.

The final score of Tuesday’s Class 4A regional final — an 11-3 FDSH victory over Sergeant Bluff-Luton at Rogers Park — may look lopsided on paper. The reality? The Dodgers, as per usual, had to earn every square inch of their seventh consecutive state tournament berth.

“This,” Adams said adamantly, “is never easy. Will never be taken for granted. And will always be respected by our kids and our program. You look around at the incredible, elite programs that don’t make it. Every year, it’s like a who’s who list. It’s so tough, and it’s a big deal. You don’t get to this point just by showing up. You get here through a lot of blood, sweat and tears in the offseason. And these kids deserve all the credit for the time they’ve put in.

“This is their moment.”

Sixth-ranked Fort Dodge (30-12 overall) plated 10 consecutive runs in the last three innings after falling behind 3-1 against the No. 14 Warriors (29-7). There were some nervous moments after Dodger junior ace Lucy Porter surrendered a three-run home run with one out in the third inning, but the tide slowly but surely turned and a close game in front of a packed house on a perfect evening became a rout in favor of the home squad.

“The important thing was for us not to panic at that point,” said Porter, who was brilliant over the final four frames following the hiccup in the third. “As a pitcher, you need to have a short memory and move on. It’s a long game. We were hitting the ball hard all night, so I knew the offense would come around and the hits would start to drop. And I trust my defense, which has been just phenomenal.

“We wouldn’t be at this point without each other, and we were going to do this together.”

Freshman Ellie Doster spearheaded a 14-hit attack, going 4-for-4 with five RBI. The indomitable catcher gave Fort Dodge the lead for good with a bases-clearing, three-run double in the fourth inning, roping the ball to the left-field wall and plating Maeleena Meyer, Meah McCaleb and Hope Alstott. Meyer and Alstott had previously knocked in Ashlyn Wills and Macy Brown, who started the rally with consecutive singles to open the frame.

Doster, who made the 4A all-tournament team at state a year ago, also had an RBI double in the first, a triple in the third and a run-scoring single in the sixth.

“We knew we could come back if we just focused and believed,” Doster said. “We all had faith. There was never a time where we didn’t think it could happen — it was just a matter of being patient, waiting for our pitches (at the plate) and then executing.

“I was telling my dad (earlier Tuesday) that we weren’t going to let another team come to our field and beat us to go to state. That just wasn’t an option. We had to come in with that confidence and then take care (of business). This is why we put all the time into the offseason, and why Coach Adams pushes us the way she does. We work in the fall, winter and spring for this opportunity.”

McCaleb kept up her torrid late-season stretch at the plate, going 2-for-2 with two walks and three runs scored. The junior leadoff batter is now 11 for her last 15 at the plate, including a perfect 5-for-5 postseason stretch.

“I was just focused on getting on base and doing whatever it took to help the team,” McCaleb said. “We had to keep chipping away and believing in ourselves. That team had a great record and we weren’t going to assume anything. We knew we needed to play hard and play together with consistency.

“It’s the little things — the stuff not many people see or think about. A lot goes into both the physical and mental preparation for the season, even way before it actually starts. So to get (back to state a seventh time) is something that means a lot to all of us, because we’ve been working at it and toward it for a long time.”

Ahead 6-3, Fort Dodge plated five more insurance runs for the knockout punch in the sixth. Meyer led off with a double and later scored on a wild pitch. McCaleb singled and scored on Doster’s RBI single, and Porter delivered the final blow with a three-run homer to left.

“Our offense is always kind of searching for that next level of consistency,” Adams said. “We faced some really tough competition late in the year, but these first two postseason games (with 22 runs combined) shows what we are capable of.

“I’m just so proud of this group. They just beat a really good, athletic opponent who had a terrific year and had only lost six times. I truly think our schedule, and the high-pressure situations we’ve put oursevles in against elite 4A and 5A schools, really makes a difference this time of year. I’ll always stand by that.”

Porter struck out nine, improving to 19-10 this season and 67-23 in her four-year varsity career. The Minnesota State recruit’s only real blip — the three-run deep fly by SB-L sophomore star Bailey Moreau, which was her 12th homer of the year — was countered by giving up only three other hits.

Porter K’d Kamea Van Kalsbeek and Emma Crooks three times each.

The Dodgers continue to ascend into rarefied air. Fort Dodge is just the 12th program in Iowa high school history to make seven straight state tourney fields, with Davenport Assumption (nine) and Lisbon (seven) keeping up their active streaks this season. The modern-day state record is nine, held by Woodward-Granger (1991-99), Akron-Westfield (2003-11), Central Springs (2015-23) and now Assumption.

The Dodgers now face Adel-ADM in a 4A quarterfinal on Monday in a rematch of a first-round contest from a year ago. First pitch at Rogers Park is set for 5:15 p.m.

FORT DODGE 11, SERGEANT BLUFF-LUTON 3

SB-L 003 000 0 — 3 4 3

Fort Dodge 100 505 x — 11 14 0

WP–Lucy Porter (19-10; 7 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 9 K); LP–Brooklyn Ocker (18-4; 5 IP, 12 H, 11 R, 10 ER, 2 BB, 2K). 2B–FD: Ellie Doster 2, Maeleena Meyer. 3B–FD: Ellie Doster. HR–FD: Lucy Porter; SB-L: Bailey Moreau.