Lady Hounds get by Keokuk in regional opener

KEOKUK — Fort Madison softball coach Kyle Doherty wasn’t thinking about the record of his team’s opponent in Thursday’s Class 4A Region 5 quarterfinal.
It also didn’t seem to be a problem for his team.
Fort Madison scored five runs in the bottom of the first inning, then continued to put pressure on Keokuk before taking a 12-5 win at Joyce Park.
The Bloodhounds (12-19) advance to Saturday’s semifinal at No. 5 North Scott.
Keokuk went winless this season, going 0-33, but Doherty knew the Chiefs had some talent.
“That’s one thing we've been talking about the whole time after it came out that we were playing Keokuk,” Doherty said. "I know a lot of people focus on records. I don't really focus on records, but I have seen them a couple times this year. There's a lot of good to that team and that staff. So it's anybody's ballgame, especially in the postseason. So we just had to make sure we were taking care of the minor stuff to get the win.”
Fort Madison had faced Keokuk three times in the regular season, winning 8-7 and 5-3 in a June 1 doubleheader and 9-3 on June 18.
“They almost beat us when we played them earlier in the year, so we knew what they could do,” Doherty said.
The Chiefs got a run in the top of the first inning, but Fort Madison immediately jumped on pitcher Kylee Hoard in the bottom of the inning.

Jordyn Marshall and Nillie Menke opened the inning with singles, then Ava Fuget was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Kylie Lumino then drove in two runs with a double. Emma Snaadt singled to right field to bring in Fuget, then when the ball got past Claire Toops, Lumino scored for a 4-0 lead. Snaadt then scored on Madysen McGee’s infield grounder.
“That was huge,” Doherty said. “We go down 1-0, and then we get five runs. That top six in the lineup has been good for us all season. They got us going early, and I think that gives confidence to the bottom part of the lineup.”
Fort Madison added two runs in the second inning. Kenadi Allen scored on a passed ball, then Fuget later singled to score Menke for a 7-1 lead.
Keokuk cut the lead to 7-3 before the Bloodhounds struck again in the fourth. Lumino drove in two more runs with her second double of the game, then scored on Snaadt’s single.
“Kylie is a baller,” Doherty said. “She is a big heartbeat to our team. I think a lot of the girls, they go off her vibe. The thing with Kylie, she brings a positive mindset, high energy, every time,”. 
The Bloodhounds added their final runs in the sixth. Marshall scored on a wild pitch and Menke scored on Fuget’s groundout.
Keokuk had runners on base in every inning but the second, and had the bases loaded with two outs in the seventh before Snaadt retired Brinkley Altgilbers to end the game.
Now the Bloodhounds get one of the top teams in Class 4A, a program they haven’t played since 2014.
“We’ve got to clean up the defense — we can't keep extending innings,” Doherty said. “We’ve got to make sure to get the sure outs, and at the plate we just have to get some good at-bats.”