Storm Lake softball season ends in 12-0 loss to North Polk

North Polk blew Storm Lake open with a five-run first inning and a six-run third, ending the Tornadoes’ season with a 12-0 Class 4A regional semifinal loss at Alleman. The No. 8-ranked Comets turned the game into a rout before Storm Lake could settle in, closing out a 19-6 season for the Tornadoes.

The matchup was never a normal regional game for North Polk. The Comets had reached the Class 4A state championship game a year ago, lost 4-2 to Pella on July 24, 2025, and had also beaten North Scott 11-3 in the semifinals. In a state where girls softball is played in the summer and the annual tournament has been held at Rogers Park in Fort Dodge since 1970, North Polk arrived with the kind of postseason résumé that has made it a familiar late-July power.

Storm Lake had a brief opening to change the tone after putting pressure on North Polk in the top half of the first, but the chance slipped away. From there, the Comets controlled every phase. Storm Lake managed only four hits, singles by Reagan DeHaan, Grace Kenkel, Cole Richardson and Zoe McCoy, and North Polk kept adding until the margin reached 12-0. Avery DeHaan took the loss, giving up 12 hits and 12 runs, 10 earned, in three innings. Storm Lake also committed three errors.

The defeat ended the careers of seven seniors and capped Tony Statz’s first season as Storm Lake’s softball coach after he previously coached Tornado baseball. Statz inherited a roster that had to replace more than half its offensive production from the previous year, and the Tornadoes still put together a season that included a Lakes Conference title in the league’s final year, a 7-1 conference mark and a postseason win.

Storm Lake had already beaten Spencer 7-5 to clinch at least a share of the last Lakes Conference softball crown before dropping the rematch 1-0, a run that showed how far the Tornadoes could go when their offense and defense held. Against North Polk, the early hole was too deep, and the gap between a good local team and a proven state contender showed up in one inning.